On the Hunt
by Lady Tanyata
Summary: This is about 5 women who get swept back in time and meet Arthur and his knights. All of them find love. Chapter 6 is eventually up!
1. First Meetings

Disclaimer: I do not own King Arthur or any of the characters in it. I do own Kai, Larissa, Naomi, Vida, and Val.

Hope you enjoy this!!

First Meetings

Kai looked around her. The others stared at her expectantly. The Old Hag they were after was in the cave nearby. All they needed was to enter it without her knowing. Kai made movements with her hands and the other four nodded their heads silently and moved. One stayed by her side. Naomi looked up at her leader in wonder.

"We following the usual plan?" she asked. Kai nodded her head.

"It hasn't failed us yet." She smiled back at her companion. "Can you tell how long she's been in there?"

Naomi frowned. "I know I'm the best tracker and everything but even that is pushing it a bit far." Kai shrugged her shoulders.

"You never know." Both women jumped as an aeroplane passed closely overhead. "I hate that!" Kai whispered as she tried to calm her breathing. She took her bow from her back and notched an arrow. She had no idea what the Old Hag had in mind for them and did not want to be taken completely unaware. Naomi pulled out a sword and nodded to Kai that she was ready. Kai looked around and saw that the others were in position too.

She stepped out into the clearing from behind the bushes and carefully approached the caves entrance. Something was bound to go wrong. Dreadfully wrong. A feeling in the pit of her stomach let her know this and she wanted to cancel the mission and just go home and have a nice mug of hot chocolate and get some much needed sleep. They had not even planned for this to happen. Val and Larissa had come across the cave when they went looking for food.

But she knew that if they did not stop the Old Hag more people would die. More people who still had their lives to live would die. Kai hated these things. These creatures that did not care for human life at all and only cared about their own existence. She took a breath as they all waited outside the entrance for a moment.

They had been doing this for four years now. It must have been fate that five people such as they could end up together using all the knowledge they held on fighting techniques to fight these things. Kai moved silently forward and the others followed close behind. Vi suddenly shifted off and hid. They could never risk their own doctor in the fighting. Vi never minded being left out of the fighting. She could fight if she had to but she preferred to let the others do the work. Her work would always come later.

She positioned herself behind a rock and watched as the others advanced in pairs. Kai and Naomi on one side of the wall and Val and Larissa on the other. They soon approached a large opening with a small fire going. The Old Hag had her back turned to them and as far as they were aware she did not know they were there. Kai and Val both tightened their grips on their bows and were about to lose the arrows when cackling started. It sounded as if it were coming from all around them. Naomi looked carefully around before mouthing the word "echo" to the others.

They relaxed slightly as the threat of more than one of these Old Hags passed. Again the grips on the bows became tighter and as they were about to unleash their arrows a voice spoke. It was ragged and harsh but echoed throughout the cave. Vi shuddered as the voice reached her on her rock.

"Kill me if you can Hunters." The Old Hag spoke. "But I can do far worse to you." The four women looked anxiously around at each other. Kai and Val finally unleashed their arrows. They dug in deep to the Old Hag and she cried out in pain. "How is it possible?" she asked slowly turning round and facing the four of them. The four women were about to move in for the kill when the Old Hag started to cackle again. "You are fools!" she shouted at them. "I cannot be defeated!"

"I tend to disagree!" Larissa told her and started to run up to her with Val close on her heals releasing another arrow and taking her own sword out. The Old Hag screamed again as the arrow hit her. Kai kept releasing her own arrows as the others advanced on her. Before any of them knew what had happened the Old Hag produced a staff and pointed it at Val and Larissa. What she said next none of the girls understood. Vi moved forward so she could see better. She noticed her twin sister frowning at the language the Old Hag used. To Val the language sounded familiar but she could not fully place it.

Suddenly in a burst of light Larissa and Val were gone. Kai looked at Naomi who was already advancing on the Old Hag. Kai released more arrows and moved to her friends side. This time the Old Hag only just managed to lift her arm and again the bright white light filled the cavern. Vi shielded her eyes and saw nothing. No one was where they should be.

"I can get rid of you too." The Old Hag called, seemingly to look straight at Vi. She quickly climbed down from her hiding place.

"Where are they?" she called. The Old Hag smiled despite of the pain.

"Somewhere where they will never return!" The Old Hag cackled again. This time she sounded more deafening to Vi. She grabbed her own dagger from out of its sheath and ran straight for the Old Hag. The dagger plunged deeply into the Old Hag and a look of extreme annoyance crossed her face before flinging Vi off with her powers. Vi hit the rock wall hard and fell to the floor like a crumpled piece of paper. The Old Hag barely managed to raise one arm never mind both. But yet again there was the blinding bright white light and Vi was also gone. "Finally got rid of those girls." The Old Hag rasped out before collapsing onto her makeshift bed.

Val and Larissa landed with a heavy thud and the ground. Both looking around them in vast wonderment. Instead of being in the cave they were surrounded by trees and forest. Larissa stood up and brushed the bark and leaves that had attached themselves to the back of her brown leather trousers off. Val was still looking around puzzled. Her bow and sword lay not too far away from her, as did Larissa's sword. Larissa turned and looked at her friend. She smiled grimly and helped Val up.

"Where are the others?" Val asked looking around. She hoped desperately that her twin had gotten away alright.

"I'm not sure. But we'd better worry about where we are never mind finding them." Larissa told her. Val looked across at her puzzled.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Larissa pointed to the trees and put her hand on it.

"The only time I've seen this thick a forest was when we went to Kai's family farm to train. Other than there I've never seen anything this thick before." Val took a more careful look around her and noticed the difference.

"Wherever we are it ain't anywhere near where we were." Val answered. Larissa nodded her head.

"We should get moving. If we made any noise or anything when we landed someone might have heard. And I really don't want to think about who it is we'll run into." Larissa picked up her sword and sheathed it and started to head south.

As they walked both Larissa and Val felt eyes watching them. They shifted their gazes to each other momentarily to confirm and then focused on any odd noises that they should not be heard.

"You know there is one good thing about all this." Larissa called behind her.

"Yeah, and what's that?" Val asked.

"At least we're not dead." She said trying to sound chirpy. At that moment their path was blocked by several large burly men. Val stopped and looked up at them.

"You were saying?" she asked Larissa tapping the woman on the shoulders and pointing to the ten men that stood in their way. Larissa shrugged. "Do you think they have a brain between them?" she asked Larissa. Larissa sized them up as they leered at the women.

"I think you're being too nice. Maybe half a brain between them but not a full one." They looked at the faces of the men and noticed the direction of their gazes. Both wore v-neck tops with little bands of colour where the v met. Val glared at them and moved to Larissa's side.

"Don't you just hate men who stare at you as if there is only one part of your body that exists?" Val asked.

"Oh yeah." Larissa replied before both she and Val punched the closest guys to them squarely on the chin sending them flying backwards. This broke the others out of their trances. They all drew their swords. "Oh look, they have weapons." Larissa said turning to face Val and pointing at them.

"This fight just got interesting." Val replied and both she and Larissa started to fight the men. Each side got in some good blows and at one point both women were on their backs. Larissa flipped backwards and stood up before lunging herself at the nearest guys mid-drift. Val on the other hand kicked one guy in the nuts and flipped herself upright before landing a nice kick to the head to the guy on her right. If the others had been there to help them or if there had been fewer then they would have won. However, with five house sized men coming at both women there was no way that they were going to win. They broke free and stood a little way off, holding out their hands to stop the men from attacking. Larissa's sword had lodged itself in the branch above and she could not reach it and Val had no idea where her own had went.

"What if we agree to come quietly?" Larissa asked them. The ten men looked at each other questioningly as Larissa and Val shared the same look and the same thought. _They really don__'t have a brain between them._ The men turned back to them and nodded their heads. Larissa and Val sighed in relief as they allowed themselves to be taken.

When Kai woke up it was to the heavy sounds of screaming, pounding feet, and metal clashing with metal. She looked around her briefly and found she was in a field. Not far away she could see men fighting each other. She leaned up on her elbows and took a better look. The men on horses wore some sort of armour whilst those attacking wore barely anything. Kai shook her head and looked around her. Her bow lay under Naomi's sword and she saw Naomi herself lying still not too far away. Kai crawled over to her friend to make sure she was alive. Kai could see her breathing and relaxed slightly.

She heard screaming coming towards her and looked behind to see one of the barely dressed men running at her with an axe held above his head. She stood up, banged the heel of her boot hard on the ground, and a small dagger protruded from the tip of the boot. She kicked the man in the neck and he fell backwards leaving the toe of her boot covered in blood. Kai grimaced at how long it had taken her to polish her boots.

She looked around again and saw seven men on horseback join the fighting. They each fought bravely killing anyone in their way. Kai turned back to Naomi who was still unconscious. Kai grabbed Naomi's sword from the ground and stood ready to fight anyone who got too near. Several of the barely dressed men came running at her from the direction of the caravan. She would have cursed the seven men on horseback if she had had the time to do so. She cut into the torso of one man as another with an axe brought it swiftly down on to her shoulder. She jerked the sword out of the first man and into the man with the axe, whilst screaming in pain from the wound.

"Bastard!" she spat as he died as well. She turned a quick look to her shoulder. Her green jacket was torn through and blood soaked the black top she had on underneath. She was not wearing her usual leathers that she and the others wore when they hunted because it had been merely a coincidence that they had come across the Old Hag. Instead, she wore khaki combat trousers with many pockets, a black top and a jacket. She always wore her boots that she fought in as did the others. She looked briefly at Naomi who shifted slightly now at the sounds.

"Watch out!" A voice called and Kai turned round just in time to see a sword heading for her face. She quickly blocked the attack and killed the man. She looked around for whoever had shouted, but saw too many men killing each other to tell where the warning had come from. Several of the seven men were now on foot and she saw one of them dismount by flinging himself at two of the attacking men. She blocked several more attacks before becoming increasingly aware that Naomi was not being protected. She looked back at her friend and what she saw frightened her. One of the barely dressed men stood over her ready to cut her head. Kai started to move towards him when two arrows flew into his body and he fell backwards. Kai looked for the shooters and saw that two of the men still on horseback had bows. She silently thanked them and stood over her friends sleeping body.

As the battle raged on a sudden flash of white light emanated from beside the carriage. _That looks familiar._ Kai thought as she saw the slim figure of Vi appear. Kai sighed in relief that it was not the Old Hag that had sent them here. She wondered how Vi had ended up here as well and decided to ask the girl later.

"Vi!" She shouted above the ringing sound of swords clashing against each other. The olive skinned woman looked up and smiled slightly at seeing a familiar face. She quickly ran to Kai's side. "Take Naomi and get somewhere safe." She quickly looked around for somewhere safe. "Under the carriage with that man." She said pointing and helped Vi carry Naomi over. The man under the carriage looked up briefly at them before helping Vi pull Naomi under. Kai was pulled backwards and someone behind grabbed her hair. She gave a scream of annoyance and pain. She landed with a heavy thud on the ground.

"Useless son of a bitch!" She yelled and back flipped herself back onto her feet and stabbed the man with the sword. As she did so, she heard a scream from behind her but did not fully take the meaning of it. Some of the barely dressed men were retreating into the forest. Kai gave a sigh of relief and exhaustion as she dropped the sword. The wound on her back was pulsing in pain from her pulling muscles as she used the sword. Three of the men that had been on horseback were close by, and one was still mounted. They looked at her a little oddly but she did not pay them any notice. Two of them looked inside the carriage. Grim looks appeared on their faces and one knelt down. Under the carriage murmured Latin could be heard. Kai looked and saw the man praying.

"Save your prayers boy. Your God doesn't live here." The man kneeling down told him. She smiled slightly at the comment and only then noticed that Vi was not there. She looked at the man and he stopped muttering prayers.

"The girl that was awake. Where is she?" Kai asked harshly. The man looked stunned. What was he expecting? For her to talk a different language? She sighed and moved closer to him. "Where is she? I'll not ask again."

"They took her." He said, clearly terrified of her. He pointed at the trees. She closed her eyes and cursed herself. The scream she had heard had belonged to Vi. She walked over to where her bow lay and picked it up. She felt for an arrow on her back and pulled out one of the few that still remained in tact. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the men talking with one of the barely dressed men. She did not know what was happening or where she was. All she knew was that she was three down and would be four down if she did not get Vi back. Kai pulled out a little circular ball and placed it at the end of the arrow.

Vi saw Kai loading up her bow as she was dragged through the trees. She had not seen the men come at her and had been taken completely by surprise. She screamed as loud as she could and notice Kai's head jerk up. One of the men dragging her hit her to stop her screaming.

"Kai if you use that thing I'll kill you!" Vi screamed down at her. A little smirk pulled the corners of Kai's mouth as she walked forward a little.

"What do you intend to do my lady?" A voice asked from behind her. She turned briefly and looked at him. He had black hair and black armour on. His eyes shone brightly in the sun. She smiled at him.

"I intend to get my friend back." She replied and turned back to the trees. "I guess you're going to kill me then!" Kai called back to Vi. Vi's stomach did a somersault inside her.

"Give me sixty!" she called.

"How about forty-five!" Kai yelled turning a round metal ball. All the men around them looked oddly at the exchange.

"Bitch!" Vi yelled and Kai laughed aloud.

"Thank you!" Just as Kai was about to unleash her arrow, an arrow struck her in the leg. Her leg crumpled beneath her and she bit down so she would not scream in pain. One of the men pulled out an arrow and shot in the direction that the arrow had come from. He had brown hair with two strands that came down his face. Kai nodded her thanks at him.

"Kai!" Vi's anxious voice yelled when the arrow did not come. Kai stood up and fired in the direction of Vi's voice. The arrow hit one of her captures and he fell down dead. Vi punched the other one who was stunned and ran as fast as she could down the hill.

Kai looked at the men around her.

"How do you know you missed her?" One asked her. He had curly black hair and had two swords on his back. Kai shrugged.

"I don't." she replied simply as Vi burst out of the trees just as an explosion erupted from them behind her. The horses shied a little but their riders kept them from running away. Vi ran up to her breathless before anyone could ask questions.

"You bitch." She rasped out before seeing the arrow in Kai's leg. "Are you all right?" she asked. Her voice now full of concern.

"I'll live. Ni might not. What's wrong with her?" Kai asked. Vi ran under the carriage and quickly checked Naomi over.

"She's fine. She's just sleeping that's all." Kai shook her head.

"How could she sleep through all this?" Vi shrugged. Kai looked on in disbelief. The man in the black armour came over to the carriage.

"Bors." A man a little rounder than the rest pulled the flap of the carriage doorway and showed the man the contents.

"What a bloody mess." He replied as he pointed inside. The man in black armour looked in before turning to Bors.

"That's not the Bishop." He walked back over to those wearing red capes and looked around them. The man that had been hiding under the carriage stood up and brushed himself down. Kai stood close to him.

"God help us. What are they?" he asked the men around them. Bors stood forward.

"Blue demons that eat Christians alive. You're not a Christian are you?" Bors asked harshly. Kai tried her best to keep a smile off her face. However, the look on Vi's face showed that she was terrified that the man was telling the truth. The man that had hid during the fighting put his hands up in a prayer position and looked terrified as well. Kai bent down, put a reassuring hand on Vi's shoulder, and shook her head. Vi sighed in relief and tried to comfort Naomi's head. Kai stood back up.

"Does this really work?" Bors asked the man and started to mimic him muttering something as well. Kai put her hand over mouth to hide the smile. "Nothing. Maybe I'm not doing it right." Kai stood away from the carriage and approached them.

"If he wants to waste him time worshipping a non-existent god then let him. It's his time." Kai told Bors. Bors looked slightly impressed and a few of the knights were smiling. An exasperated sigh sounded from under the carriage and Vi poked her head out from under it.

"Is that why you never join us at mass on a Sunday? Because you think we're wasting our time?" she challenged her friend. Kai smiled.

"Vi if it wasn't for you four and your prayers of our safety I would probably be dead by now." she replied calmly. "Besides you know how much I like to sleep." Vi snorted in disgust and Naomi moved her head.

"Kai you're a bloody insomniac. You don't sleep." Naomi whispered. Kai bent down again and instantly regretted the movement. The pain in her leg became more aware.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" she cursed as she sat down. Naomi sat up and moved over to her and Vi sat by the leg with the arrow in it. She looked carefully at the wound and then up at Kai. "You even think about taking that thing out of my leg and I will kill you!" Kai told her. As Kai had spoken, Vi had carefully snuck her hand around the arrow. Naomi saw this and got ready to hold Kai.

"What ever do you mean?" Vi asked all innocent and smiles.

"You know…" A scream of pain and the flow of blood followed as Vi pulled the arrow out. Kai made to punch her but Naomi held her back pressing herself against the wound on Kai's shoulder. Kai turned and punched her instead. Naomi fell backward and looked annoyed.

"What the hell…?" she started to ask but saw the wound on Kai's shoulder. "Erm…sorry." Kai glared at her and Vi for a few moments as the men around them watched in curiosity and amusement. Their attention was turned to the men on horses with red capes. One of their voices carried across the way easily so all heard it.

"Arthur. Arthur Castus. You're father's image. I haven't seen you since childhood." An old man called out to the man in black armour.

"Bishop Germanius. Welcome to Briton. I see your military skills are still of use to you. Your device worked." Vi was making quick work of bandaging Kai's leg and all of them noticed a body being brought out of the carriage.

"Ancient tricks for an ancient dog." Kai looked at Naomi and both had the same look on their faces. They smiled at each other and Vi tightened the bandage causing Kai to yell a little in pain. After the bandage was secured, Naomi helped Kai stand up. The Bishop and Arthur were approaching them. "And these are the great Sarmatian knights we have heard so much of in Rome." None of the knights looked impressed. "I did not think you had women amongst you though." Arthur made to answer but Naomi got there first.

"We ain't knights." She told him. Kai shook her head in slight disbelief. The Bishop laughed at the statement.

"And I can tell that you are not ordinary women." He said looking all three over. Kai and Naomi crossed their arms in mild defiance and Vi stepped closer to Kai. "Tell me can you two fight as well as her?" The Bishop asked pointing to Naomi and Vi and then to Kai.

"I can, but Vi's more our own personal doctor than a fighter." Naomi replied. The Bishop nodded his head. He turned back to Arthur. "I thought the Woads controlled the north of Hadrian's Wall?" Arthur looked apologetic at the three women before replying to the Bishop's question.

"They do, but they occasionally venture south. Rome's anticipated withdrawal from Briton has only increased their daring."

"Woads?" Naomi asked.

"British rebels who hate Rome." One of the knights replied. He had long brown hair. Kai recognised him from the fighting.

"Men who want their country back." Another knight asked, clearly the youngest of them.

"Who leads them?" The Bishop asked. The girls kept looking back and forth from each other. Some of the names were beginning to sound familiar. Each becoming increasingly aware of who they were with.

"He's called Merlin. A dark magician some say." A knight with two swords replied. Kai recognised him as well. That confirmed it for Vi and Kai. A smile spread across Vi's face as she realized who these people were. Kai hit her gently and the smile vanished. Naomi still stood trying to puzzle it out. Kai leaned towards her a little.

"Think King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table." Naomi's eyes widened and her mouth hung open.

"Shut up!" She almost screamed in Kai's ear. All the men looked at her. "Sorry." She apologised before putting a neutral expression on her face. Arthur turned to one of his knights.

"Tristan ride ahead and make sure the road is clear." Tristan nodded his head and made to leave.

"Wait! I'll go to." Naomi perked up. Arthur looked at her questioningly. "It's the least I can do for saving us." She explained all sweetness and smiles. Arthur nodded his head and a horse appeared by Naomi's side.

"You know how to ride?" Tristan asked her sharply. Naomi nodded her head and mounted the animal with ease.

"Naturally." she replied and sped off. Kai and Vi shook their heads as Tristan followed Naomi out of the field and down the path.

"Do you have any control over your people?" Arthur asked Kai politely. Kai looked taken aback and Vi just smiled at her.

"My people?" she smiled at that. "They ain't mine. We're friends." She replied. "And trying to tell Naomi what to do is like getting blood out of a stone. She does what she wants."

"We all do." Vi added on. "Besides, Naomi's really great at hunting and tracking. He's in safe hands." Kai knocked the back of her head and she frowned at her. Arthur and the other knights smiled and laughed before he turned back to the Bishop who was looking at the two remaining women.

"Please do not worry Bishop. We will protect you." Arthur told the Bishop bringing his attention back to Arthur. The Bishop smiled at Arthur as he made to get into the carriage.

"I've no doubt Commander. No doubt." Kai and Vi both mimicked him. The knights around them suppressed smiles and laughs. The man that hid under the carriage made to get in after the Bishop.

"Dozens don't worry me nearly so much as thousands." The Bishop dropped the flap of the door before the man could enter. All the knights and the two women were looking at him expectantly.

"Thousands?" The one with two swords asked. The man shrugged and walked off. Arthur approached the two women.

"My name is Arthur and these are the Sarmatian knights. We are at your service." Kai and Vi looked at each other in dumbness. Neither one knowing what to say.

"Thank you." Kai managed at last unsure as to whether it was the right thing to say. The tallest of the knights came over to them.

"My name is Dagonet and if you'll let me I can tend to your shoulder wound." He addressed Kai. Vi looked surprised and turned angry eyes at Kai.

"You had more than one wound!" she yelled. Kai grinned sheepishly at her. Vi turned to Dagonet. "No you won't. It's my job to heal them." She stated. The man bowed and left. Vi felt foolish at how rude she was being. "But help wouldn't go amiss." She smiled at him. Dagonet smiled back and helped roughly dress Kai's shoulder.

"That should hold until we get to the fort." Dagonet told her. Kai looked up at him.

"Thank you." she replied. Vi smiled sheepishly at them and yawned. It had been a long day for them. It had been almost night in their time and here it was the middle of the day. "My name is Kai and this is Vi. The one who rode off is Naomi." Kai introduced them to the knights.

"My name you know as well as Dagonet. This is Lancelot, Gawain, Galahad, Bors, and the one who is with your friend is Tristan." Arthur replied pointing to each knight in turn. Vi frowned.

"I'll never remember all those names." She told them. "Oh, and it's not Vi and Kai. Those are our nicknames. Our full names are…" She stopped as Kai put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. "My full name is Vida." She corrected.

"What's your full name?" Gawain asked Kai. Kai looked up at him.

"It's a secret." she replied and turned her attention to Arthur. "So this fort we're going to. Where is it?" she asked bluntly. Arthur smiled at her reassuringly.

"It's along Hadrian's Wall." He replied. Kai nodded her head trying to figure things out. "My lady, know this, so long as you are with me and my men no harm will come to you and your friends." She stared at him.

"You mean no more harm don't you?" She asked playfully. He smiled and nodded his head. "Thank you Arthur. We really appreciate this."

"It's our pleasure lady." He turned to Vi as well as to herself. "Can you both ride like your friend?" he asked. Vi paled under her olive skin and her green eyes darkened slightly. Kai covered her mouth and looked away from her. She coughed it away before answering Arthur.

"I can. But Vi has a slight problem with horses." Arthur nodded.

"Would your friend agree to travel in the carriage with the Bishop, or double with one of my knights?" As Kai was about to reply Vi spoke at her shoulder.

"I would rather double than share the carriage. There's something about the way he keeps looking at us that makes me feel uncomfortable." Vi shuddered a little.

"Glad it's not just me." Kai told her. "Wonder if Naomi felt it too?" Vi smiled.

"That's probably why she rode off." Kai laughed and nodded. Arthur smiled at them as well. A darkness still shrouded Vi's eyes and Kai looked at her a little worried as they joked. Arthur turned to his knights.

"I need one of you to volunteer to double with Vida." He called out.

"I will." Dagonet replied before Lancelot could. Vi walked over to Dagonet and he lifted her effortlessly onto his horse. She wobbled slightly at first but managed to keep her balance. She nodded her head at a question Dagonet had asked her and smiled. They looked slightly odd together. Her olive skin against his pale skin. Lancelot moved his horse closer to Kai as Arthur wondered off somewhere.

"And what about you my lady? Do you need someone to share a horse with?" she looked up at him and smiled as sweetly as possibly.

"Sorry but you're not my type." She told him as some of the knights rode by. Some laughing whilst others smiled. Lancelot himself laughed before offering his hand out to her. "I can ride." She told him flatly, as Arthur returned with a bay mare and offered the reins to Kai. "Thank you." She replied as she climbed up easily into the saddle and set the horse in motion.


	2. Getting to Know You

Getting to Know You

Naomi reined her horse in a little as Tristan rode to catch up. She laughed at the bemused and impressed expression on his face.

"Didn't you think women could ride like that?" she called back to him. He smiled and stopped his horse beside hers.

"Only in my dreams." He replied, breathing heavily. He noticed that the fast ride had given Naomi's normally pale skin a faint glow. She looked happy and content with her life except a small flash behind her eyes that gave something away. She knew pain and lots of it. As they had rode ahead, both Tristan and Naomi had noticed that there was no one in the forest and no one following them from the battle.

"I hope Kai isn't causing too much trouble." Naomi said trying to make conversation. He looked at her questioningly. "She's prone to trouble. She never goes looking for it yet it always finds her." She answered. He laughed.

"And still she fights? She is strange." Naomi laughed then as well. All of them had had many arguments with Kai and her strangeness. She still maintained that Kai was the strangest of all of them. Though apparently she came in at a close second.

"Yes. Fighting is all she knows. Her grandfather taught her from an early age." She set her horse moving forward again and Tristan did the same, wondering if this strange beauty would reveal anything about herself. "She was bullied as a child and her mother thought it would be a good idea if Kai's grandfather taught her self-defence. Unfortunately, it digressed from there. She knows the most of all of us about fighting techniques. She taught all of us. Though Vi can't seem to work her way round most of it." She laughed quietly as memories of past training sessions fluttered across and disappeared. She looked over at Tristan who seemed to be staring off. "I'm not boring you, am I?" Tristan looked over at her intently and she felt herself blush a little.

"Not at all."

"Good." She looked back at the road. "I'd hate to get blamed by your friends that I bored you to death out here." He laughed aloud at that. He felt at ease around this woman. Something about her presence made him feel calm and content. Her bright red hair shone in the sunlight and gave her pale skin an unnaturally illuminated glow.

"I somehow think that no matter what you say I shall never be bored." He kept his gaze steadily on her and watched as more pink flushed her pale cheeks. She turned her head away from him, feeling him watching her and not wanting him to see her blush. What was wrong with her? She was acting like a silly little school girl with a first crush.

Tristan stopped his horse abruptly. "I think we've rode far enough. We should return to the others. There is no one following or watching." He told her. Her shoulders sagged a little at this, but she nodded in agreement. She was enjoying herself and enjoying his company. Ever since that fateful night that had joined the five of them together, she had not thought about love or relationships. Now she was and it startled her that she could feel those emotions once more. Tristan watched her carefully.

"Or we could wait for them here?" he asked her. She looked up at him with a glimmer of what looked like hope in her eyes, and was pulled out of her thoughts. She smiled at him and nodded her head again.

"I'd like that." She replied getting off her horse and sitting on the ground. It was going to be a while before the others caught up. Tristan climbed down from his own and sat beside her. After a long, awkward, pause Naomi decided to ask the question that was plaguing her mind. "Who are you?"

"My name is Tristan. I'm a Sarmatian knight brought to Briton as a youth and forced to fight for Rome and its Empire." Sadness came into her eyes and it touched his heart that there was no pity with it.

"You were taken from you're family to fight for a cause that is not yours. That's not right." She said shaking her head with her knees pulled up under her chin. She almost looked like a child. "That's just not right." Tristan was almost overwhelmed by the sadness that overcame Naomi for him. He reached up and brushed a strand of the bright red hair off her face. She pulled back startled by his touch.

"I'm sorry." He said quickly as he saw a look of both fear and amazement in her eyes. "I shouldn't have done that." He stood up and made to mount his horse. As he was about swing himself up a small hand lightly touched his arm and he stopped. He had not even heard her move.

"It's not your fault." She whispered into his ear. "It's me. It's just been a long time since anyone's touched me." He turned and faced her and saw small beads of tears forming at the corners of her eyes. He wiped them away gently with his gruff warrior hands.

"Hush now." He whispered to her and was about to pull her into an embrace when they heard horses approaching. "That will be Arthur." Naomi nodded her head and walked silently back to her horse and climbed back up.

"Do you know where we are?" Val asked Larissa as they looked around their surroundings. Larissa shook her head. She had no more idea about where they were then Val did. She noticed some villagers working close by and stared at their clothes. They were doing exactly the same to the two of them. A man in robes waited for them and nodded his satisfaction to his men.

"Take them down." He called over to them, noting the strange clothing the two women wore.

"Shit." Larissa muttered as her and Val were thrown down some steps and landed in a tangled heap on the floor.

"You could have just asked!" Val shouted up. Larissa looked around. Most of the people were dead or dying. A woman, who looked about their age, looked out from a cell. Larissa inclined her head and tried to disentangle herself from Val's small frame. A hand grabbed the back of each of them and dragged them to their feet, instantly untangling them. One of the guards gave them an almost toothless smile. Both women ran their tongues involuntary over their own to make sure they were still there.

"Welcome." A priest said. Both women took an involuntary step back only to be pressed up against the guards holding them. "Take them away." He said as Val was shoved into one cell and Larissa shoved in with the other woman.

"Son of a bitch!" She called to the guard who only grinned at her through the bars as he locked it up. "Val?"

"I'm good." Came a reply nearby. "I'm next door to you." Larissa nodded her head. Not that the other woman could see this. Larissa looked at the woman she was in with and noticed as the woman flinched away from her.

"I'm Larissa and that's Val in the other cell. You needn't fear me." She told the woman. She looked half starved and about ready to die herself. "What's your name?"

"Guinevere. My name is Guinevere." She rasped out. Her voice was hoarse and sharp.

"When was the last time you ate or drank anything?" Larissa asked. Guinevere shook her head.

"I don't know. I was taken near the forest and brought in here. They'll torture you and your friend as they did me." Larissa looked at the woman's hands. Only dislocated. If she fixed them and what the woman said was true then they would only be dislocated at the end of the day anyway. Larissa was about to ask something else when the metal bars dropped and Larissa was pulled out by her neck.

"Your turn." The guard smiled and the Priest nodded his approval. Larissa looked mildly frightened for a second before she gathered her senses and braced herself for whatever would happen. At university, she had gathered a Masters in History and pulled all her knowledge of medieval torturing devices to the front of her mind. She blanched as she did so as what she remembered, she wished she could forget again.

They dislocated her shoulder and whipped her back until it was raw. All the while asking her questions about some people called Woads and the forest and how many there were. She made up numbers and facts but they never seemed to believe her, as they would continue the torture. Either that or they did believe her and liked torturing people. She passed out, they chucked her back in her cell, and did the same to Val. Val had memorised all the answers that Larissa had given and repeated the same numbers and facts. This still did not seem to convince their captures.

The echoes of the women's screams lasted for what seemed like hours. When Larissa woke from her unconsciousness, she curled herself into a tight ball, and tears dripped silently from her eyes. She had run away from the last man who had tried to hurt her. But, here, there was no escape. Val sat up straight and thought of her twin sister. Hopefully somewhere safe and far away from here with Kai and Naomi. What she would have give to see her sister. What both would have given to have the people they had cared about back in their lives. They would not be here now if it had never happened. They also would never have become such close friends. Neither Larissa nor Val called to each other to ask if they were all right. Guinevere did her best to try to help Larissa but she would not move from her ball.

After the Priest had fallen asleep, a woman, older than them, crept down the stairs and left small parcels of food. Val nodded her head in thanks to the woman and Guinevere took Larissa's for her, as the woman still had not moved. Val noticed the woman move to one of the circles in a raised area and passed some food down to whoever was in there. So they were not the only ones still alive. Val ate the food silently, as did Guinevere. She offered Larissa's food to her and she accepted it without word or acknowledgement and ate in silence. Her back stung, as did her eyes now. Val was not feeling much better. She hoped that someone would find them soon. Larissa cursed herself for suggesting that they give themselves up. Better to have died fighting than die tortured.

Kai had noticed how Naomi and Tristan were standing close together but said nothing as her friend reined in beside her. Naomi took a quick look at Vi and noticed the smiling face. She could not help but smile at the woman's happiness.

"She looks happy." Naomi said to Kai as they rode on. Kai smiled.

"She's had that stupid grin on her face since we started out." Kai told her looking back. "What about you?" she asked slyly. Naomi sighed. She figured she had not been quick enough to escape Kai's notice.

"I'm not sure." She replied honestly. "He seems nice enough, but I honestly don't know if I'm ready yet." Kai nodded her head in agreement.

"Just don't rush things and make a fool of yourself or ruin things completely." Naomi laughed. Kai could have continued with that list. Kai smiled at her.

"Alright, alright, I get the message." Kai looked at the road. "Any idea how long this journey is?"

"Why? You sore already?" Naomi went to hit Kai playfully in the arm but Kai swerved and the hit missed.

"I hope I'm not being too much of a bother?" Vi asked Dagonet as they continued. He looked down at her.

"Not at all." He replied smelling her hair lightly as a light breeze blew some in his face. It smelt of strawberries. She smelt like strawberries. Her small frame looked even smaller compared to his. "It isn't much further any way." She looked up at him, green eyes sparkling as the sun hit them.

"How did you get into this?" she asked with childlike innocence. Dagonet's shoulders sagged a little. "Forget I asked." She leaned herself back against his chest. He was hard as a rock yet soft and gentle at the same time. She felt safe and comfortable around him and could not explain it. Something that she had not been for a long time with a man.

"It's not that. It's just awkward to explain." Bors rode up beside them overhearing the conversation.

"Nothing awkward about it Dag." He said loudly for everyone to hear. Several of the knights looked their way. "You see Vida, when we were children Romans came to our homes and enlisted us to serve them and their Empire. We were sent here to follow Arthur's orders and protect Briton from the Woads." Vi nodded her head in understanding.

"And today we become free men." Galahad added looking back at the carriage where the Bishop sat in leisurely comfort, looking out from time to time to look at the three women riding and watching their bodies closer as the swayed and moved with the horses. Kai and Naomi looked at each other. Naomi already knew most of it. Except that today was to be their day of freedom. Dagonet looked at Bors and he rode off.

"What will you do when you get your freedom?" she asked looking up at him. He looked down and smiled at her.

"Go home probably. Though I know Bors has other plans for me." She nodded her head again and turned to look at the road. They talked pleasantly of other things as they rode. Galahad watching and listening from time to time. There was something about Vida that captivated him and he could not explain it.

Soon the seven knights and three women were sat on their horses overlooking a wall and fort. Vi still looked comfortable sat in front of Dagonet, whilst Naomi moved over to where Tristan was and Kai stood her horse between Lancelot and Arthur. All the knights sat there with slightly stupefied smiles on their faces. Bors broke the silence.

"Well, now that we're free men I'm going to drink til I can't piss straight." Smiles spread across some of the knights faces.

"You do that every night." Gawain commented without a pause. Kai smiled at the quickness of the comment.

"I never could piss straight. Too much of myself to handle. Down there." He said pointing to his nether regions. Gawain looked away and several of the other knights looked slightly uncomfortable with the topic.

"Too much information." Kai said, and Lancelot smiled across at her, whilst Naomi and Vi both nodded their heads in agreement with Kai. Dagonet smiled down at his passenger as her head moved on his chest.

"Well it's a problem." He looked down the line of knights. Some not fully believing him. "No, really it is, it's really a problem. It's like…"

"Like a baby's arm holding an apple." The others chimed in as well. Naomi and Vi burst out laughing whilst Kai considered it a moment trying to get the image of a baby holding an apple. She shook her head as the image would not come and joined in laughing. They rode further forward closer to the wall. As they did so, the knights began to talk of what they would do now they were free.

"I don't like him. The Roman. If he's here to discharge us why doesn't he just give us our papers?" Galahad asked in furious annoyance.

"Is this your happy face?" Gawain asked. Kai smiled from behind them as Bors laughed. Galahad do you still not know the Romans? They won't scratch their arses without holding ceremony." Galahad still looked unimpressed.

"Look, why don't you just kill him and then just discharge yourself after?" Bors asked him. Kai pulled up beside Galahad.

"Are you sure it's wise to be putting ideas into his head?" she asked. Though in the short time they had been riding she had spoken with each of the knights and knew a little of how they thought. "You never know what he'll do with it." Gawain smiled at her and she smiled back, whilst Bors just sat laughing.

"I don't kill for pleasure." Galahad answered both of them. Tristan pulled up close beside them. "Unlike some." Kai was about to reply when Tristan spoke instead.

"Well, you should try it some day; you might get a taste for it." Gawain laughed at the look on Galahad's face. Kai jumped slightly at first hearing his voice then smiled as he finished talking. He nodded his head to her and rode further forward until he was beside Naomi.

"It's part of you. It's in your blood." Bors told him.

"I wish it was in my blood." Kai commented absentmindedly. The three knights looked at her questioningly, but her eyes had become unfocused as she focused on an old memory. Tears sprung to her eyes and she closed her eyes. The smell of jasmine hung in the air and she remembered her home. She had not been there for some time. The three men continued with their conversation as they watched Kai carefully.

"No, no. No. No. As of tomorrow this was all just a bad memory." Galahad said and rode forward to Naomi. "I think there is something wrong with your friend." Galahad told her, ignoring the look he was getting from Tristan for disturbing their conversation. Naomi stopped her horse and waited for Kai's to catch up.

"Do you like her?" he asked Tristan. Tristan looked ahead before nodding his head slightly. "Then go for it." Galahad said slapping his comrade on the arm. "Women that beautiful don't come along very often." Tristan smiled at him and bowed his head.

"And since when did you become such an expert in women?" Tristan asked. Galahad laughed the question off. "Was it when a certain green eyed young woman came running out of the forest?" Galahad stopped laughing and looked back at Vi sat on Dagonet's horse.

"Do you think there is any hope for me with her?" he asked seriously. Tristan shook his head.

"She looks quiet taken with Dagonet. She has not even looked the rest of us over since he offered to help Kai with her wounds." Tristan replied. Galahad nodded his head and rode in silence. Naomi saw Galahad look over to Vi with longing in his eyes. _Poor man. She__'s a lost cause._ Naomi thought as she touched Kai's shoulder. Though her eyes remained unfocused, her voice was as strong as ever.

"I thought I was home with my parents." She told Naomi. "I smelt jasmine in the air." Naomi punched her hard across the face and Kai fell off her horse. Vi looked over shocked and asked Dagonet to move his horse over. However, he was already doing so before she spoke.

"Have you lost your mind?" Vi accused Naomi. The whole company had stopped and Kai lay quietly on the floor.

"She said she could smell jasmine on the air." Naomi told her. Her short explanation was all Vi needed as she watched Naomi get down off her horse.

A small 'oh' was all that Vi could manage. "Can you help me down please?" she asked Dagonet. He again effortlessly lifted her onto the ground. "Thank you." She said before hurrying to Kai's side. "Did you smell any jasmine?" she asked Naomi. Naomi shook her head and held Kai's head up. The woman looked shaken but was unharmed.

"Wh-what happened?" she asked confused as to why she was on the ground.

"You fell off your horse daydreaming." Vi told her helping her to her horse. Naomi cast a look around daring anyone to challenge her. They all stepped down. "I bet you were thinking about one of these knights." Vi teased. Kai snatched her arm back and climbed onto her horse. Vi looked at the ground. Naomi saw Kai's shoulders ease as she looked down at the mass of black hair.

"Maybe." She smiled down. Vi lifted her head all sunshine and brightness again. She mouthed a quick 'sorry' and Kai shrugged it off. Truth was she could not remember what she had been thinking about. Arthur gave his knights a look and before long, they were moving again.

"I've often thought about what going home would mean after all this. What will I do? It's different for Galahad. I have been in this life longer than the other. So much for home that's not so clear in my mind." Gawain continued. Kai laughed.

"You're still talking about this?" Gawain and Bors nodded and smiled at her. She shook her head in slight disbelief.

"Well you speak for yourself. It's cold back there and everyone I know is dead and buried. Besides, I have, I think, a dozen children." Bors said. Kai stared amazed that anyone could have so many children.

"Eleven." Gawain corrected. Both men noted the look on her face. "Don't women where you come from bare that many?"

"Some do, yes. But most only have two or three. Four at the most."

"Unless your name happens to be Kai and turn out to be an only child." Vi shouted forward. The two men looked back.

"You are an only child?" Bors asked. Kai nodded. "No wonder you look shocked to hear of that number." He laughed and she smiled, knowing that she was not being made fun of but because the situation was funny. "You listen. When the Romans leave here, we'll have the run of all this place. I'll be governing my own village and Dagonet will be my personal guard and royal arse kisser. Won't you Dag?" Bors called back to the man. Vi looked up at him.

"The other plan?" she asked him. He nodded his head.

"That's if some beautiful black haired, green eyed woman doesn't marry him first!" Bors called. Kai laughed as even with Vi's dark skin the fierceness of the blush came through. Bors and Gawain laughed as well. Vi tried to hide her face but nothing worked.

"Oh piss off!" she called over to the three of them when she saw they were still watching her. The language would have shocked the men of she and Kai had not yelled abuse at each other when Vi was rescued. Kai turned back to the road, as did the two men.

"First thing I will do when I get home is find myself a beautiful Sarmatian woman to wed." Gawain stated, knowing exactly what he wanted. Bors looked at him in surprise.

"A beautiful Sarmatian woman? Why do you think we left in the first place?" he asked before mooing like a cow. Kai hit his arm.

"They can't all be that bad." Bors looked at her as if she was stupid. "Or maybe they are." Lancelot laughed as he rode up beside them. "What about you Lancelot? What are your plans for home?" Kai asked joining the conversation properly.

"Well, if this woman of Gawain's is as beautiful as he claims I expect to be spending a lot of time at Gawain's house. His wife will welcome the company." Lancelot replied grinning mischievously at her.

"I see. And what will I be doing?" Gawain asked. Not impressed by Lancelot's answer at all.

"Wondering at your good fortune that all your children look like me." Bors and Kai burst out laughing, both nearly falling from their horses. Lancelot smiled at the laugh that he had emitted from the tough brown haired woman.

"Is that before or after I hit you with my axe?" Gawain asked. This made Bors and Kai laugh even harder and both had to steady themselves so they did not fall off their horses. Lancelot rode forward a little. Naomi looked at him as he passed.

"Thank you." She called softly to him. He reined in beside her.

"For what?" he asked. Naomi looked behind her and saw Vi smiling as well.

"For making her laugh. It's been a long while since either of us has heard her true laugh." Lancelot smiled at her.

"So you're thanking me for making her laugh?" he asked. Naomi nodded. "Glad to have been of service." He bowed in his saddle and rode further on. Naomi turned back to Tristan.

"How long has it been? Since you heard her laugh?" Naomi shrugged.

"Like that. Three or four years at least." Tristan looked startled at the response.

"What happened to you all? You're all careful around us. As if you don't trust us." Naomi shifted uncomfortably in her saddle.

"It's not that we don't trust you. It's just. It's just hard to talk about." She replied choking back tears. Tristan leaned over and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." he whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." Naomi answered with a small smile and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Maybe someday we'll explain it all to you all. But for now we'd appreciate it if no one asked us."

"You must hate me." Tristan said unexpectedly. Naomi looked at his quizzically. "Every time we've spoken so far I've managed to make you cry."

"On the contrary," she replied. "You're the first man I've met in a long while that hasn't tried anything with me. And I like you for that." Tristan smiled at this and called for his hawk. The hawk swooped down over Naomi's head and rested peacefully on Tristan's arm.

"Where you been eh? Where you been?" he asked the hawk. Naomi looked at the creature in fascination.

"She's beautiful." Tristan nodded and fed her.

Arthur looked back at the laughing figures.

"Do I want to know?" he asked. Lancelot shook his head.

"What will you do Arthur when you return to your beloved Rome?" Lancelot asked him. A small smile played at the corner of his mouth.

"Give thanks to God that I survived to see it." Arthur replied calmly. Lancelot shook his head.

"You and your God. You disturb me." He smiled at his closest friend amongst the knights. He thought back to the comment Kai had made back at the battle. _If he wants to waste his time worshipping a non-existent god then let him. It__'s his time._ Her voice echoed clearly in his mind and he smiled at the memory. She clearly was not Christian, but her Vi was. He wondered briefly about what religious view Naomi held but returned swiftly to his conversation.

"I want peace Lancelot. I've had enough. You should visit me." Arthur told him. Lancelot grunted in displeasure. "It's a magnificent place Rome. Ordered, civilised, and advanced." Arthur looked dreamily and far off as he spoke.

"The breeding ground of arrogant fools." Lancelot added. Arthur looked a little hurt by his friend's comment but seemed used to it.

"The greatest minds in all the lands have come together in one scared place to help make mankind free." Lancelot looked around briefly considering. A smile toyed at Arthur's lips.

"And the women?" Lancelot asked smirking and leaning over to Arthur. He laughed at Lancelot as they approached the gates.

"I thought a certain brown haired woman we currently met had caught your eye. Thinking of settling down with her?" Lancelot stared at Arthur in mild disbelief.

"How did you know?" Arthur laughed.

"It's written in your eyes. You forget Lancelot that I know you better than anyone." Lancelot smiled.

"It wouldn't be an easy task to get her to settle down with anyone by the looks of things. And I have to get past her watchers." He added about Naomi and Vi. Both men started to laugh as slowly, one by one, they entered the fort.


	3. Broken Promises Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not know any of the characters except Kai, Naomi, Larissa, Vida and Val. I had to split this chapter up into two parts because it was so long. If you have any comments or criticisms or spot any mistakes please let me know so I can change them.

LadyT

Broken Promises - Part 1

The knights and the three women were the first to enter the fort closely followed by the Roman soldiers that had accompanied the Bishop and the carriage. Kai wrinkled her nose up at the carriage as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. Naomi leaned over to her.

"Play nicely now." She whispered and Kai cleared her face of any expression, thought or feeling. How the knights managed to put up with the Bishop was beyond her. To her he was nothing but an arrogant fool who thought things about the three women that disgusted her. No body needed to be a mind reader to know what the Bishop was thinking as he stepped out of the carriage and grinned at the women. Vi pressed herself against Dagonet as far as she could and he put an arm protectively around her waist. Kai and Naomi pretended not to notice him staring at them but it was hard going.

"Welcome back, Arthur." A man said holding onto Arthur and Lancelot's reins.

"Jols." Arthur replied.

"Lancelot." Lancelot merely inclined his head to the man. They all dismounted and Kai and Naomi noticed a woman giving them strange looks. She had many children surrounding her. The woman looked away when she noticed that the two women had seen her staring at them.

"Bishop. Please. My quarters have been made available to you." Arthur said pointing with his arm to the entrance of the small building that Kai assumed to be the main building of the fort. She looked at it. It was plain and simple and was nothing like what she thought Roman architecture to be like. But then again, this was only a fort and not a stately home.

"Ah, yes. I must rest." The Bishop replied, looking over the women once more before he disappeared into the building. The three women gave sighs of relief as the Bishop disappeared. The knights looked at them, some were smiling.

"Well, how would you react?" Vi questioned them. They were not used to the quietest one been so straight forward, even after the short time of knowing each other. Kai placed a hand on her head and she turned and smiled at the woman.

"Don't worry. If he looks at us like that one more time I'm going to give him a permanent smile." Naomi chocked back a laugh and the smile disappeared from Vi's face.

"Please don't do anything rash or stupid." Vida pleaded. Kai smiled slightly down at the woman.

"But stupid is what I'm good at." Vida's eyes pleaded with her and finally Kai gave in to the big, beautiful green eyes staring up at her. "Alright, alright, I promise I'll try not to do anything rash or stupid." Vi nodded her head, and as Kai walked off, she actually thought about what Kai had said. She was about to protest when Naomi stopped her.

"Think about it for a moment and you'll realise that that is the best deal she can make. But if he does continue leering at us, he is going to get hurt." Vi stomped her foot in annoyance. Why did she have to get stuck with the two violent ones?

Kai approached Arthur unsure of what exactly she was going to say to him. Arthur was talking with the man that had held his and Lancelot's reins.

"Jols, once the horses are taken care of, I want you to find a room large enough to fit the three women that accompanied us back." Arthur told the man. Jols nodded once and led the horses off giving Kai a reassuring smile as he passed her. Arthur turned and saw her. "Can I help you my lady?" Kai shock herself to talk.

"I was going to ask you where we were going to sleep." Arthur smiled down at her and Lancelot grinned at her.

"You would be most welcome in my bed lady." Lancelot told her leaning closer to her as he did. Arthur turned to her grinning.

"Do you think about anything else?" His only reply was a smirk. "No. I didn't think so." Lancelot was about to reply to this when Arthur cut him off.

"My man Jols, is going to sort somewhere out for you once he has finished with the horses. Stay at the tavern and he'll find you." Arthur replied.

"Thank you." she replied and turned to leave. "Oh, just one more thing. It's really starting to bug me. The whole 'my lady' thing, so could you just call me Kai from now on please?" she asked. Arthur nodded and she walked over to her friends. As she did Lancelot's eyes remained glue to her back. Naomi and Vi saw his expression and tried to suppress smiles as Kai walked back to them. They tried to look at her expectantly.

"What are you two grinning about?" she asked them, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Nothing. Well, what did he say?" Naomi asked, changing the subject completely.

"We have to stay at the tavern while some one sorts out a room for us." Vi nodded her head and started to follow the knights out of the compound. As they walked pass they noticed the woman who had stared at them slapping Bors and then suddenly kissing him passionately.

"That's Vanora." Lancelot said from close behind Kai. She jumped at how close his voice was. "Bors's lover. She's the one who gave him so many children." Kai nodded her head. Naomi and Vi quickened their pace slightly as Lancelot and Kai continued. She heard Bors behind them talking to one of his children and then a noise as they all passed Kai and Lancelot. Vanora still looked oddly at Kai and smiled slightly at Lancelot. Lancelot nodded his head at her. Once they were gone, Lancelot looked at Kai. "You're very quiet for someone who can lead so well." He told her. She looked up at him then startled and surprised.

"I don't lead." She replied. "And I've always been quiet."

"Oh, I believe you do, whether you know it or not. Your two friends do whatever you tell them to even before you've said anything. They know you and you them." Kai stared up at him wide eyed. How could he have interpreted so much from them so soon? All they had done was argue with each other. Nevertheless, she had to admit, he was right. All four of them did whatever she suggested. She never led only commented on what they should do and none of them ever argued with her.

"Do you really think so?" she asked him, her voice barely audible. He nodded and she smiled slightly.

"Are you quiet from being an only child?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Possibly. My family owned a farm far from town so that they had to drive me to school everyday so I could get a decent education. I never had any friends at school. The others used to bully and pick on me because I didn't live in town like they did and because I lived on a farm. They said some really horrible things about that." She added as she talked about herself. "I guess I know just about everything about you then if you were all drafted into this thing with the Romans the same way?"

Lancelot nodded. "But I do come from a large family. I had several siblings." They had reached the tavern and Vanora was watching the three women intently. Lancelot took one of her hands and lightly brushed it with a kiss. She stood there blushing furiously at the small gesture. Naomi and Vi knew he was wasting his time but hoped that somebody could melt the 'Ice Maidens' heart. She had been dubbed this since she had refused to go out with any of her classmates. Kai had been the only girl in a class of twenty and she had dated no one. Naomi smirked at her and Vi was trying to hide a smile.

"You like him." Vi said as Kai sat down and gave an exasperated sigh.

"I do not like him." She told her friends shortly. Vi and Naomi looked at each other.

"Well then, what did you talk to him about?" Naomi asked.

"My parents and school. And honestly I don't see what it has to do with either or you any way." Kai replied getting defensive. The two women shared another look with each other before deciding that it was better for them not to piss Kai off so soon on arrival before she had a door to slam in their faces. Naomi looked over at the bar area and noticed the woman still staring at them.

"She's still staring at us." Naomi said changing the conversation entirely. Kai nodded her head and Vi looked round to see who they were talking about. She saw a red haired woman, a little older than they were, standing at the bar, looking at them with pure hatred in her eyes. Vi shuddered at the penetrating stare she received and looked straight ahead of her.

"We have other things to discuss." Kai told her. "I know here isn't the best place to discuss them but we don't have a room yet." Naomi nodded. "What do you both think about Arthur and his knights?" Vi and Naomi looked at Kai expectantly before looking at each other.

"Well, I think it's safe to assume that these are King Arthur and his knights of the round table. There are the names for start. Definitely Arthurian." Naomi replied.

"And there is the whole protecting thing though the whole Sarmatian part is totally new to me." Kai added.

"I like Dagonet." Vi replied. All three laughed at the statement briefly before turning serious again.

"Do you think you're ready for a relationship?" Naomi asked her. Vi nodded.

"I've been thinking about it for a while, and whilst I still love Ryan, he's gone now and he would want me to move on." Vi replied. She almost sounded grown up. For the doctor amongst them and being the one that was supposed to be all serious, Vi rarely was serious or sounded grown up unless it was to do with medicine or healing. She absorbed information on new medicines and procedures faster than anyone else, and was fast becoming the best doctor at her hospital. Though her moonlighting as a huntress did mean she was sometimes late for work. However, she was lucky as the information she knew got her out of some really sticky situations.

Naomi nodded her head and thought about Tristan and what Stephen would have wanted her to do. No matter how much she wanted to let go of him and continue with her life, she could not do it. Not yet anyway. She had been with Stephen a lot longer than what Vi had been with Ryan, but that did not mean her love was deeper than Vi's. Kai merely shrugged and tried not to think about the past. Everyone she had ever loved was gone. Her entire family had been massacred on the farm and nobody had heard a thing. Ryan and Stephen had both died in the arms of the women who loved them. An eerie silence crept over the table as the three thought about the past. Vanora still watched them, wondering what they were thinking.

One by one, they came out of their trances and smiled sheepishly at each other. Tears in all of their eyes. Vi looked across at Vanora.

"She's still watching us." She told the other two, as they wiped the tears from their eyes.

"We still have something else to discuss." Kai told them. They both looked at her quizzically. "The Old Hag." Naomi nodded her head and thought for a moment about what had happened. Vi's thoughts immediately turned to worrying about her sister.

"I think she had it planned. I mean, come on, she used a high class spell without even breaking a sweat." Naomi told them. Kai nodded her head silently.

"And she managed to do it three times with all those arrows in her and the dagger wound I gave her. Though by the time she came round to me she could barely lift an arm to do it." Vi told them. Kai nodded again and looked both women in the eyes.

"I agree. I think she did have the entire thing planned, and though we did come across her unexpectedly, she did have everything ready. I think she planned on sending us to different times at first. But with the arrows and the blood loss, she wouldn't have been able to do it. So I think there is a good possibility that Val and Larissa are around here somewhere. And Vi ending with us two shows that the Old Hag was losing power, otherwise Vi would have been somewhere else." Both women looked at Kai amazed and shocked. They looked like this whenever Kai managed to express any logical thinking that she had happened to do. Kai looked over to the woman watching them.

"This is getting ridiculous." Kai said, and the other two followed her line of sight.

"Couldn't agree more." Naomi added and without a word, the two of them stood up. Vi sat still for a moment before following them as they walked over to where the woman stood. Vanora's back straightened as the three women approached her.

"Hi." Kai said sounding friendly and cheery as daylight. "My name is Kai, this is Naomi, and this is Vida." She told Vanora as she pointed to each in turn. The three women surrounded her as Vanora tried to move backward to get away from them and frowned when she found the wooden worktop behind her instead of escape.

"What do you want?" Vanora almost snarled.

"We want to know why you keep staring at us?" Naomi asked in the same tone as Vanora.

"You think you're so powerful. Coming here and trying to steal our men from us. What with your strange clothes that don't cover you as half as much as what they should." At this the three women looked down at themselves and then at each other. Kai was still wearing her combat trousers and jacket, only it was open now and you could see her stomach where her top and trousers did not fully meet. Naomi looked like a sports model wearing Capri trousers and a vest top with a light jacket on top, and Vida had come straight from work to the hunt so she was still wearing her black trousers and white blouse. All three noticed one thing. All of their tops came down pretty low and they were all showing cleavage. "And your good looks and beauty. And you probably are real charmers as well." Vanora continued, as they looked each other over. At these last words, Kai looked like she had been hit with a hammer at full force. She stood there in shocked silence.

"Listen, we aren't here to steal your men. Well, not intentionally. I think I've stolen Tristan and this one," she pointed to Vi, "has definitely stolen Dagonet. And we don't know for sure whether Kai's stolen Lancelot or not." Naomi explained. Vanora was only half listening to the woman, as the look on Kai's face was scaring her. It was one of pure happiness and joy.

"Is she okay?" Vanora asked the others, worriedly.

"She'll be fine. You'll find out what's wrong with her in a minute once it seeps in." Vi explained. "Listen," Vanora looked at the woman. "If you're worried that we'll try and steal Bors from you, you really shouldn't be." Vanora looked at the women. Kai still frightening her slightly. What Naomi had said moments before began to sink in.

"Wait. Did you say you had stolen Tristan and Dagonet's hearts?" she asked them almost excitedly. Naomi nodded her head. Vanora laughed happily. "I'm so happy. I've been trying to find them women for ages but they never seem interested in anyone I pick out for them. Though I stopped a long time with Tristan." Vanora explained. Now that these three women were no longer seen as a threat to her and Bors, she relaxed and was warming up to them. Naomi and Vi wanted to ask her questions to what they were like when Kai began to break out of her trance.

"You think I'm beautiful?" she asked in a dreamy sort of voice.

"Yes." Vanora said unsure of what the woman would do to her. Kai wrapped her arms around Vanora and hugged her tightly.

"You think I'm beautiful!" She repeated. Vanora looked to the other two for explanation as Kai let her go. The four women sat down at a table. Vi waved her hand to let Naomi tell the story.

"She was always bullied as a child and never fit in. No one ever said she was beautiful or pretty or gave her any sort of compliment. There's this big end-of-school dance that everyone goes to where were from, well, she never went. Nobody asked her to go with them and nobody wanted her there either. She hasn't trusted men since school. Something really bad happened to her." Vanora was about to ask a question when Naomi held up a hand. "Please don't ask for details on what happened. We don't even know." Vanora nodded her head and would remember to tell Lancelot this later if he was serious with this one. Unlike his many other women. He, Gawain and Galahad were the only knights she did not need to worry about finding women for. It was getting them to settle down that was the trouble. Naomi looked at Vi and smiled. "Next two to ask about her are yours." Vi nodded her head.

A sound from behind them brought Kai completely out of her trance. She turned around on the bench and saw Jols standing there. She smiled kindly to the man. He bowed slightly.

"My ladies, your room is ready." Vanora looked at him.

"You mean the three of them are sharing?" He looked up at her.

"Yes. It was Arthur's wish." Jols replied. Vanora stood up and stared the man straight in the eyes.

"Arthur's wish? Forget that and find them three single rooms." Jols bowed and turned to leave.

"No!" The three women shouted together. Kai almost falling off her seat. "We're alright sharing, honestly." Vi told Vanora. Vanora looked at them questioningly but nodded her head. "Please, show us to our room." Jols nodded and the four women followed him back to the compound, with the bags that had come with them on their backs and Kai's bow in her hand, and into the same building as the Bishop.

"The Bishop is on the other side of the building and should not know that you are here." Jols explained. The three of them relaxed slightly and Vanora started to work out the problem they were having in her mind. Jols opened a door and the four of them walked in. The room was reasonably sized with three beds positioned awkwardly around the fire brazier in the middle of the room. It was already on fire and warmed the room nicely. Kai dumped her things and sat on the bed closest to the window. Neither of the other two were surprised. Naomi took the bed closest to the door and Vi took the one in the middle. Vanora turned to Jols.

"Have hot water and a bath sent here please." She told the man, obviously having dealt with him before the way she ordered him around. "You can have a few free drinks tonight at the tavern." She bribed him. He smiled slightly and left to get what she asked for.

"A bath?" Kai asked her.

"Yes. A bath. I trust you have them where you're from?" she asked. Vi nodded.

"Kai just hates baths that's all it is. She prefers showers." Naomi explained.

"Showers?" Vanora asked quizzically. "What are they?"

"It's like a pipe in the wall with a hole on the top and it sprays water down onto you. You stand up whilst you have it. It's a lot easier than having to bother with a bath and quicker." Kai explained. Vanora nodded trying to understand what had been said.

As they waited for the water and things to be sent to the room Vanora decided it was time to have some questions answered.

"Why did you want to share a room?" she asked them. Naomi and Kai motioned for Vi tell it.

"He looks at us as if we're sex objects and not people. There is only one thing going through that man's mind and everyone can see it. Only none of the knights can do anything about it because they haven't got their discharge papers yet, and because he is such an important person." Vanora nodded her head. She knew how they felt. Before she and Bors had finally got together, many men at the tavern had tried to take advantage of her. Luckily, she knew how to take care of herself and managed to keep them off.

"And we work on the basis of safety in numbers." Naomi added. "If all three of us are here then the Bishop can't do anything because he'll have the other two to worry about." Vanora smiled beginning to understand that these women were sensible and had good heads on their shoulders. She was grateful for that for it meant that none of the knights could take advantage of them.

"I do have another question." Vanora told them. Kai looked at over at her from unpacking her bag. Vanora noticed some clothes and a few weapons on the bed. The others were unpacking their equipment as well.

"Ask away." Kai told her reassuringly. Vanora sat on Vi's bed.

"Where do you come from?" All three stopped what they were doing and looked at each other. This was going to be a little difficult as they all came from different places.

"The future." Kai replied. "I would go in more detail but it is a little confusing because we all have different backgrounds and childhoods." Vanora nodded her head in understanding. Before long a bath and hot water arrived at their room along with some clothes.

"These are from Arthur and the knights." Jols explained as they each took their own bundle. Kai was first in the bath, as she would take the shortest amount of time to wash and the longest amount of time for her hair to dry. It took Vanora, Naomi and Vi to get Kai into the bath with the minimalist amount of pain possible. All three washed her as she tried not to move too much as both her shoulder and leg had decided to let her know that they were still alive by causing sheer amounts of pain by small movements.

Naomi had the next bath and Vi took the time between Kai's bath and her own to redress the wounds and to see to her shoulder wound properly. Whatever Dagonet had put on her shoulder had stopped infection from developing and had even taken some of the redness away from it. Kai dripped dry by standing in front of the fire with the towel wrapped tightly around her. Naomi was dried and back into her old clothes much to the disappointment of Vanora who had hoped that they would put their new clothes on straightaway. In fact, none of the women had even looked at the bundles to see what the knights had collected for them.


	4. Broken Promises Part 2

Broken Promises - Part 2

As they were all huddled round the fire trying to dry and keep the chill from their wet hair from the rest of their bodies a knock came from the door. Vanora answered it and saw her own lover with the rest of the knights stood in front of the door. Vanora smiled at their shocked faces.

"What are you doing here?" Bors asked her.

"Helping them." Vanora replied. "Now what do you all want?" They looked at each other and silently nominated Bors as their spokesperson.

"Arthur wants us in the Hall." Vanora looked at him. "He also requested that the three women join us." Bors finished. The look on Vanora's face never changed and Bors was not quiet sure whether his woman was mad, livid, or happy. Her expression was neutral. She looked behind her at the girls. Some of the knights tried to peer in but to no success.

"We also want to know whether they liked their clothes or not." Tristan added. Vanora was glad she now had her back to the knights as she tried to suppress a smile and failed miserably. She looked directly at Naomi. The only one who was fully dressed. Kai was still in her towel drying her hair, and Vi sat on her bed with her back to the fire in her underwear. This of course meant they had to explain the usage of a bra to Vanora who looked at the bras in fear. Naomi stood up from her bed and went to the door. She held it close to her so they could not see they others. Tristan looked at her disappointedly as he saw she had the same clothes on as before.

"They were clothes you sent us?" she asked them. They nodded.

"I could have told you that!" Vanora remarked, staring at the women in shock. Naomi rolled her eyes and turned her head to look inside the room.

"Will you help us figure out how the hell to put them on?" Naomi asked her. Vanora nodded her head. Naomi turned back to the knights waiting expectantly. She saw Jols a little way off. She smiled at him and he came forward. Tristan felt a small pang of jealously.

"Jols, will you wait for us as we get dressed, or in my case changed." Naomi and the knights jumped as something banged hard against the door. Naomi turned back in doors again. "You freaky little bitch! That almost hit me!" She was close to screaming.

"Almost doesn't count." Kai chimed from the other side of the door. Lancelot smiled widely as he thought at what the woman he liked must be, or as the case was, was not wearing. Naomi turned back to them.

"You take that stupid look off your face and the whole lot of you bugger off. We'll meet you in the Hall." Naomi told them. Jols stood leaning against the opposite wall.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" They all heard Kai swear. Naomi came out of the room and closed the door firmly behind her. A long stream of cursing and swearing came through the door and the knights looked mildly horrified, yet at the same time increasingly impressed, with the imaginative force of some of the curses and the fact that Kai had not yet repeated herself. Naomi rolled her eyes and looked at them.

"Please forgive her. She gets like this sometimes." There was a small knock on the door from inside the room.

"Ni we need you to knock her out." Vi called. The knights looked at each other and decided that now would be a good time to leave. Though the cursing and swearing still continued to come from the room. Naomi smiled at them all and opened the door. The knights quickly left the scene and decided to tell Arthur about it when they got to the Hall. Naomi closed the door behind her and walked swiftly over to Kai who was refusing to put on the dress the knights had given her. Her fist lifted and before Kai had any time to react at all was lying flat on her back, on her bed, slightly unconscious.

Kai was only half-aware as two of the women dressed her. Naomi was getting changed and was just finishing fastening her dress up as Kai came fully round. Vanora and Vi looked at the job they had done with proud looks on their faces.

"You look stunning. Lancelot won't know what hit him." Vi told her. Kai snorted.

"Oh yes he will. It'll be my fist connecting with his face if he tries anything." Kai said sitting up and looking down at the pale blue dress she was in. It was in a Roman style, with partings down the side of the arms every now and then. Naomi looked at her in disgust.

"Talk about being ungrateful!" She snapped at Kai. "The six of them were standing outside the door when you started you're full on swearing session about a dress! I have never seen you behave or act so childish in my years of knowing you!" Naomi looked at Kai who now had her head hung. "You should be ashamed." Vi looked between the two not knowing what to do. Vanora looked just as helpless.

"I'm sorry." Kai whispered. "I didn't realise that all of them were out there. I thought you were just talking to Jols." Naomi sobered a little realising her friend was truly ashamed of the way she had behaved. She sighed.

"Just be glad they have no idea that you were swearing because they gave you a dress, a nice pair of comfortable shoes and a little bit of jewellery." Kai looked up hopeful.

"They don't know why I was swearing?" she asked. Naomi shook her head. Kai sighed in relief. She had acted like a child. She had never had to wear a dress before now. Trousers were always more practical for working on the farm and they were more comfortable too.

Vanora looked the three girls over before she left. Kai in her pale blue with her light brown hair dangling slightly over her shoulders. It stopped just below her shoulders and contrasted well with her hair. Vi wore a green dress of the same design as Kai's and her mound of black hair had loosely fallen down her back no matter what she and Vanora had tried to keep it up with. Naomi's dress was of the same design again and a pale pink colour. Her hair was half up and half down and stayed in place by the help of dozens of hairpins. Each had a pair of flat, comfortable shoes that matched the colour of their dresses, and small plain necklaces and bracelets. Though Naomi's shoes were slightly too small for her. All three looked like visions of beauty. Vanora smiled and said farewell to the three. They told her that they would probably come to the tavern later to see her and tell her how it went.

They walked out of the door and Jols almost did not recognise them. He looked each of them over appraisingly before leading the three women to the Hall. He opened the door and nothing but the sound of laughter could be heard from within. Vi entered first being the mostly familiar to wearing dresses. She was actually surprised that Naomi had put her pink one on. Pink was Naomi's worst colour. Though she had to admit to herself that pink did look good on Naomi. Kai entered next a little shyly and ashamed because of her outburst. Naomi entered last and the door closed behind her with a gentle thud. All of the knights stopped laughing and looked at the women stupidly. All three started to get flustered.

"You all look like you never saw a woman in a dress before." Naomi snapped at them. Arthur smiled at them and slowly the knights closed their mouths.

"Welcome, new friends." Arthur called from the other side of the table.

"Thank you." Kai answered, desperately trying to get into her friend's good books again and to chase away her shame by being on her best behaviour.

"Please sit." Arthur said indicating to empty seats around the room. If they had any doubts about Arthur and the knights being the ones from the legends, the table chased them all away. Round and in a perfect circle. The three girls cast quick glances at each other and smiled. Tristan and Dagonet moved from their seats to escort Naomi and Vi to empty seats next to them. Kai stood standing a moment before sitting in a seat between Gawain and Lancelot. Drinks were placed in front of the women as some of the knights' goblets were refilled. Kai stared down at her drink for a moment trying to work out what it was.

"It's mulled wine." Gawain told her answering her unasked question. She paled slightly as he said this and Lancelot grinned at her.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked her. Vi and Naomi looked over at her. The last time Kai had had any sort of wine she had got extremely drunk, extremely fast and started stripping on the kitchen table. Luckily, it had only been the five of them and they had managed to stop her from fully stripping, but the next day she had had the worst hangover in history.

"Nothing wrong." Kai answered sweetly, still paling as she pick the goblet up and went to take a sip of it. Just as the rim was about to touch her lips she put back on the table quickly. Naomi and Vi sighed in relief as she did this. They did not want to have to deal with a drunken Kai and the Bishop.

"Is there anything else she could drink?" Naomi asked.

"Preferably non-alcoholic." Vi added. Arthur smiled in sympathy and nodded his head to one of the servants. Kai's goblet was removed and a goblet of water replaced it. She sighed in relief as colour slowly returned to her cheeks as the familiar clear liquid looked up at her. Lancelot looked at Kai questioningly as to why she had paled so much at the sight of wine. Once they had all settled back down Arthur stood up.

"Let us not forget that we are the fortunate ones." Arthur said. The other knights rose out of their seats for the toast as well. Dagonet and Tristan had lightly touched Vi and Naomi's arms for them to stand as well and Kai followed her friend's examples. "Let us raise our wine to those gallant and extraordinary men we have lost, but who will be remembered for eternity." All of them raised their goblets and drank. All three women tried desperately not to think of their own missing comrades. A small tear appeared at the corner of Vi's eye but she wiped it away quickly.

"To freedom!" Bors called. Kai smiled at him. He was definitely her favourite knight. The loudest and the most likely to speak his mind.

"To freedom!" They all called again.

"To new friends." Arthur raised his goblet in the directions of each of the women's directions.

"New friends!" They called again.

"Kai does this seem familiar to you?" Naomi asked her. Kai looked around the room pretending not to have heard and that the ceiling was more interesting.

"I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about?" Kai replied still looking anywhere except the knights and her friends.

"Let me jog your memory. Uni, class, morning, drunk." Kai tried to cough down each of the words but it did not work. The knights laughed, though not fully understanding what uni was or class. Vi was smirking behind her goblet.

"You don't get out of it that easy missy!" Kai told her. "You were with us."

"Yes and you weren't the one who had to do an autopsy on a two day old dead body. I'm lucky I didn't puke my guts out!" Vi replied. Dagonet looked down at her and all the knights looked puzzled.

"Please enlighten us." Arthur said and they all sat down. Naomi and Vi let Kai explain first.

"A uni is short for university. We have an education system where you have education up until the age of 17 or 18 and then its optional as to whether you want to further it or not. We all did and ended up going to the same place. We're all from different places so we didn't know each other at first. But in our second year, the five of us decided to play a drinking game. Unfortunately we started it at about two in the morning and didn't finish till about seven, and we all had lessons, which are classes at nine that morning." Kai explained hoping she had explained everything that they would understand it. They all nodded. At least they understood about the drinking game.

"What was the drinking game?" Bors asked.

"It's called the toasting game. Basically, you say a toast for something and then take a drink. By about five, we were coming out with some random ones. Like, to curtains, and to paper." Kai smiled at the memory.

"Unfortunately some of us have more energetic classes than these two. An autopsy is where you're given a dead body and you have to figure out how the person died by doing a series of tests and cutting them open. I was still drunk when I got to my class. Luckily, my teacher saw this and stopped me from doing anything. I was sent back to my room and told to sleep it off. That was the shortest class I ever had." Vi explained. The knights shuddered as she had explained what an autopsy was. Kai was smiling.

"Yes. I heard you puked all over in your class." Kai turned to Naomi. The woman sat there with her mouth open.

"How did you find out about that?" she asked amazed that it had got further than her department.

"I had my sources." Kai said trying to sound superior. "Actually, I over heard a couple of guys on my course talking about a theatre student puking their guts out in rehearsals. They described you quiet accurately. Fortunately your teacher thought you had a stomach bug and sent you home as well." Lancelot turned to her.

"What about you? What happened to you on your course?" Kai shrugged.

"Not a lot really. The smell of engine oil got to me a little but I managed not to puke. Though I did manage to do some interesting things to the engine I was working on." Kai replied. They all laughed, not really wanting to know what an engine was and not really caring. They were still laughing when the Bishop's servant came in, looking around at the knights and the table in clear dislike.

"His Eminence, Bishop Naius Germanius." Horton called to those around. The laughing subsided and was replaced by a dull quiet and anxiousness. The Bishop walked in and looked around. He wore the same expression as his servant at the table. Horton had moved over to Jols who was still stood at the door.

"A round table? What sort of evil is this?" Jols replied so all could hear him equally.

"Arthur says for men to be men they must first all be equal." Horton still looked unimpressed and the answer Jols gave him did not help matters. The Bishop looked around the table and noted the women. Instantly he started leering at them and staring. Naomi moved slightly closer to Tristan and Dagonet put his arm around Vi. That left Kai. She was sat too far away for either Gawain or Lancelot to save her. She looked anywhere but at the Bishop.

"I was given to understand that there would be more of you." The Bishop stated, continuing to look at Kai whenever he could.

"There were. We have been fighting here for fifteen years, Bishop." Arthur replied. The Bishop finally decided to sit next to Arthur, deciding that this was the most important place around the table. Kai looked out of the corner of her eye to see Lancelot concealing a smile.

"Of course. Arthur and his knights have served with courage to maintain the honour of Rome's Empire on this last outpost of our glory. Rome is most indebted to you noble knights. To your final days as servants to the empire." As the Bishop made the toast, golden goblets were placed in front of the knights. There was none for the women. A slight smile played across everyone's lips as the Bishop began toasting, but soon vanished when Lancelot spoke.

"Day. Not days." The knight corrected the Bishop. The Bishop ignored Lancelot as he made the correction.

"The Pope's taken a special interest in you. He enquires after each of you and is curious to know if your knights have converted to the word of our saviour or…?" The Bishop left the question hanging. Arthur immediately answered.

"They retain the religion of their forefathers. I have never questioned that." The Bishop looked at each of the women, each time his eyes lingered that second longer.

"No. Of course. They are Pagans. And what of you three beautiful, young women?" He asked them. Vi and Naomi took a quick glance over to Kai to see that she had not fell into the same trance she had with Vanora calling her beautiful.

"I'm Christian." Naomi answered proud. Tristan looked at her slightly odd for a moment before deciding something in his mind.

"Catholic." Vi replied quietly. Dagonet gave her the same sort of look. She felt slightly sorry for the two of them. Lancelot turned his head and looked at Kai. The smile that was always on his lips when he looked at her was gone. She was startled to find that he was really interested to know.

"And you?" The Bishop asked Kai. She shrugged the question off.

"I don't believe that there is a God, or Gods, depending on what your religion." Kai replied. The Bishop's face turned to cold stone at her reply.

"You know that I am a man of God?" The Bishop asked her. No matter how much Kai wanted to argue with the man. She had promised herself and the others that she would behave.

"Of your God. Yes." She replied. The Bishop turned away from her. She looked up to see Lancelot's smile had returned, only it was not the usual one he had given her so far. This one had more meaning and something hidden beneath it.

"For our part, the Church has deemed such beliefs innocence. But you, Arthur, your path to God is through Pelagius? I saw his image in your room." The Bishop continued. Arthur looked unconcerned, maybe even a little proud of the man the Bishop had mentioned.

"He took my father's place for me. His teachings on free will and equality have been a great influence. I look forward to our reunion in Rome." Arthur replied. That explained why he seemed proud of the man, if he had taught Arthur. There was something in the way the Bishop said nothing after this that made Naomi and Kai a little unsure of things. They gave each other a sly look.

"Rome awaits your arrival with great anticipation. You are a hero. In Rome, you will live out your days in honour and wealth." At these words, none of the knights looked very impressed. Though happy for Arthur that he would be doing what he wanted, all they wanted was their discharge papers. "Alas…alas we are but players in an ever changing world. Barbarians from every corner are almost at Rome's door, because of this Rome and the Holy Father have decided to move ourselves from indefensible outposts, such as Briton." At this, Horton placed a large wooden box beside the Bishop and as the Bishop opened the box, revealing the discharge papers, some of the knights stood up anxious for them to be in their hands and out of Rome's service. "What will become of Briton is no longer our concern any more. I suppose the Saxons will claim it soon."

"Saxons?" Arthur and all three women questioned. Worry came to him easily. He had heard nothing about Saxons invading. The women were more worried about their friends whom they had not found yet.

"Yes. In the north a massive Saxon incursion has begun." Kai and Naomi shared a quick look before looking and watching Vi. Under her dark skin, she had gone deathly pale. She was hoping that her twin would not be that far north but safe in the south. Vi looked close to being sick. The words of the knights that came next did not help matters.

"The Saxons only claim what they kill." Lancelot said. Vi turned to him startled, yet knowing by his look he spoke the truth.

"And only kill everything." Gawain added. A squeak of wood scraping along the stone floor caught everyone's attention and before anyone knew what had happened a flash of green had passed them by and Vi had gone. Naomi was close on her heels. Their dresses lashing out behind them. Naomi motioned for Kai to stay. One of them needed to hear everything. She looked around the room. All the knights looked concerned. The Bishop just stared at her.

"Is she alright?" Arthur asked her. Kai nodded.

"She will be in time. Her twin sister was with us when we got transported back here. Only her and another of our group got transported first. We have no idea as to where they are and the talk of Saxons and killing just made her really worry about her sister, that's all." Kai explained. Hoping that that was all of it. Dagonet looked at her for more information but she had none to give except the names of those missing. He wanted to leave and go after her. That she could clearly see from his eyes. Hopefully this would be over soon and he could.

"So you would just leave the land to the Woads. I have risked my life for nothing." Galahad nearly shouted, clearly angry about both the waste of years and Vi.

"Gentlemen, your discharge papers with safe conduct throughout the Roman Empire. But first I must have a word with your Commander." None of the knights and Kai moved. They all stood now facing the Bishop in silent fury. "In private." The Bishop added on when no one had moved.

"We have no secrets." Arthur told the Bishop. The Bishop looked at him in fury and slammed the lid of the box down. What he had to say he did not want the knights to know directly from him. Arthur was better suited to handle them then he was.

"Come. Let's leave Roman business to Romans." Lancelot told them as he raised his goblet once more and drank what remained in it. Silently all the knights and Kai started to leave.

"Let it go Bors." Dagonet told his friend putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder to move the burly knight. Bors grinned at the Bishop and picked the goblet that had been given to him up and left with the others. Once outside the room and the doors had been closed the Bishop turned once more to Arthur and told him what he and his knights must do.

"Rome has issued a final order for you and your men."

"A final order?" Arthur asked, not quiet believing his ears.

"You are to travel north to rescue the family of Marius Honorius and return, in particular, with Marius's son, Alecto. Alecto is the Pope's favourite godchild and pupil. It is his destiny to become a Bishop, perhaps even Pope one day."

Arthur looked at Bishop Germanius in disbelief. "On this day you ask this of my men. On this day." Arthur stood and walked away from the Bishop. Not sure what he would do to the man if he stayed too close to him. "They have risked their lives for fifteen years for a cause not of their own and now, on the day they are to be liberated, you send them on a mission which is far more dangerous than any other they have undertaken. You tell me Bishop, how do I go to my men and tell them that instead of freedom I offer death?" As Arthur had spoken, he had become more passionate and angrier. The Bishop shrugged his shoulders before he replied. Not fully understanding why Arthur was so upset.

"If your men are truly the knights of legend perhaps some will survive. If it is God's will. Your men want to go home and to get home they need to cross the entire breadth of the Roman Empire. Deserters would be hunted down like dogs. Will you defy the Pope, Arthur? Rome? God himself?" The Bishop asked a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Arthur looked at the man with hatred and fury in his eyes. His men deserved freedom, they deserved to go home, yet this man was keeping them from it.

"Everything I have done has been for the Church and for Rome. Do not mistake a loyal soldier for a fool Germanius." Arthur spat at the man.

"Would you leave a defenceless Roman boy destined to lead our Church at the hands of the Saxons? Fulfil this mission and your men will receive their discharge. Their papers will be waiting here the moment they return. You have my word." The Bishop stood up and carried the box with him as he began walking to the door.

"You think very hard upon that vow Bishop for I will hold you to it. Break it, and no Roman legion, Papal Army, nor God himself will protect you. That is my word." Bishop Germanius looked up at Arthur slightly scared and knowing full well what he was capable of. If he went back on his word then Arthur would surely kill him. He nodded his head and headed back to his room, wondering where the three women were sleeping.

As they had left the Hall and Arthur to deal with the Bishop, Dagonet touched Kai's arm to get her attention.

"Is Vida alright?" he asked her worriedly. Kai sighed; in truth she had no idea.

"I don't know. You all scared her by the way you were talking about the Saxons. For all we know Val and Larissa could be with them, or dead by their hands. Vi worries about her twin. They've rarely been apart since they were born." Dagonet nodded his head. "But she would have probably ran back to the room we're staying in." Dagonet gave her a small smile and walked off down the corridor heading for the room the three women were staying in.

"I'm really sorry." Gawain told her. "I didn't mean to hurt or frighten her." Kai nodded.

"I know, and she knows it too." Gawain gave her a small smile before walking off. Bors placed a weighty hand on her wounded shoulder. She hissed and moved quickly from underneath the weight.

"Sorry, forgot that was wounded." Bors told her. "Your friend Vida has certainly taken Dag's heart away." Kai smiled.

"Oh yeah!" She looked around at the remaining knights. Galahad was ahead, walking slightly behind Gawain, and Lancelot was behind her. Tristan was nowhere to be seen. "I don't think Dagonet's the only one. I think Tristan has lost his heart to Naomi." The knights that had heard started laughing and agreeing with her. Bors looked at her seriously.

"Will your friends hurt them?"

"No, not if they're ready to move on. It might take a while for Vi and Naomi to be fully comfortable around them but I think they really like them." She explained. Bors nodded his head satisfied.

"Good. That is what I wanted to hear. Now come, let's go drink!" Bors yelled and the others agreed. Kai tried to get away from them to go and check on her friends, and finally with much persuading they let her. She sighed as she walked down the corridor. A silent figure following her unknowingly.

Dagonet and Tristan both arrived at the room at the same time. They looked at each other as they heard gentle sobbing come from within the room. Dagonet knocked on the door gently and the sobbing stopped momentarily but the door remained shut.

"It's no use. She won't let you in." A voice said from behind them. They turned and saw Naomi standing in the shadows. "She won't even let me in." Tristan moved to her side.

"Are you alright?" he asked her tenderly. She nodded her head. Small beads of tears hung at the corners of her eyes.

"I'm just as worried as she is about Val and Larissa. I hope that they're alright and that they're still alive, but something keeps nagging at me like I'm mistaken. That they're not alright and that they just might be dead." She managed to get out and flinched when Dagonet started to pound on the door with his fist.

"Vida, let me in. It's me Dagonet." He called through the door. There was a short silence and then to Naomi's amazement the door opened and Vida stood there tears streaming down her face. She ran into Dagonet's arms and the man led her down the corridor to her room. Naomi collapsed onto the floor in shock. Tristan bent down to her level.

"It's alright. Your friends will make it if they are as strong as you and Kai." Naomi looked up at him in wonder. She noticed the tattoos on his cheek and stroked them. Stephen had had tattoos. Not like these but similar ones on his chest. The tears she had been trying so hard to keep in fell out of her and she crumpled on the ground weeping. Tristan cradled her with his arms. Again, he had made this beautiful woman cry. He lifted her up and took her to his room. She let him lead her and offered no resistance.


	5. Broken Dreams

Broken Dreams

Dagonet placed the weeping woman in his arms on his bed and sat beside her, still holding her softly to him. Finally, the tears subsided and sniffles came. Dagonet looked down at her.

"We are truly sorry for what we said. We didn't mean any harm to you." She shook her head.

"Don't apologise. There's nothing to apologise for." She sniffled once more and wiped her eyes on the back on her blouse. She grimaced as her mascara came off onto the white material. Dagonet pulled a cloth out and gave it to her. "Thank you. No there is nothing for you to apologise for. I'm a worrier you see. I worry about the people I care for. My sister and I, we're close. Really close. We know each other's thoughts and feelings before we ourselves do. I just miss her that's all. And because I don't know where she is or how she's feeling I worry even more about her safety. It just shocked me that she might already be dead. I hadn't considered that." Dagonet took her face in the palm of his hand and made her look at him.

"If your sister and your other friend are half as brave and courageous as the three of you, then they will be alive. Of that I am sure." Her eyes welled up again and all she could do was wrap her arms around him and press her face close to his chest. She could hear the regular beating of his heart and it soothed her. It reminded her of work. Of all the lives she had saved and of the many more that she would save.

"Thank you." She told him. "I really needed to hear that said by someone who isn't a friend." He pulled her back a little and looked at her.

"You don't see me as a friend?" he enquired questioningly. She shook her head, leant up, and kissed him softly on the lips.

"No. You I see as more than a friend." He held her and kissed her passionately on the lips. Both deepening the kiss.

Tristan finally managed to direct Naomi to his room. By the time they had reached it though she had stopped crying. She leant against the door to his room, red eyed.

"You were right." He watched her. "I do seem to cry a lot more when I'm around you." He hung his head, slightly disappointed. "But that's only because I know that I'm safe with you and that nothing bad could ever really happen to you because you know how to fight." His head snapped up and he looked at her straight in the eyes. They glinted in the dim light of the torches that hung on the walls. Before he knew what he was doing, his hands were around her slender waist and they were kissing, softly. They pulled away from each other slightly. His hands still around her waist. She wanted to tell him what had happened in her life, but could not bring herself to do it. She looked into his eyes. They were questioning her. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Why did you lie to Kai this afternoon when we were riding back?" he asked her. Her head tilted down. So much for Vida taking the next two. "I'm sorry, but it has been bothering me. I don't understand why you would lie to her if she is your friend." Naomi gave him a levelled look and opened the door to his room. Pulling him in after her. She closed the door and leant against it heavily.

"What I am about to say to you, you do not tell the other knights or let the others know you know anything, especially my friends." He nodded his head in agreement. Naomi gave a deep sigh before she continued. "When she said she could smell jasmine on the air. Where she lives, jasmine grows wild. She was visiting her family one weekend. When she arrived, nobody came out to greet her and the heat of the sun made the jasmine smell stronger than ever. It still does on occasion. She walked to the back of the house and tried all the doors and windows but they were all locked. She knew her family were still close by because she would have passed them in town or on the road to her home. She looked everywhere she could think of. She even went for a small walk in the fields to see if they were there. But she could find them nowhere. Finally, she gave up and went to go wait for them in the barn. Before now she hadn't checked there. She walked in, and there were her family. All butchered and bloody and torn into pieces." Naomi was almost shaking with the hurt of the memories. Of Kai telling them all what had happened that day. "Back then we were only partially aware of each other's existence. It was that event which sparked everything off. Every time she now drifts off and starts to think of home she gets a murderous glint in her eyes. She got revenge on the being that did that to her family, but whenever she says she can smell jasmine in the air and daydreams off, it usually means were in for a rough patch. We've only recently learnt that knocking her out stops these bursts. Fortunately for us, she never remembers what she was doing or us hitting her. She isn't herself when she gets like that." Naomi finished her explanation. Tristan stood there in shock.

"And that's why you lied to her. To keep the truth from her?" Naomi nodded.

"If she knew that she hurt us when she got like that she would never be able to forgive herself. It's taken this long for her to let go of her revenge, even though she killed the being not long after the murder happened." Tristan looked dumbstruck. Naomi smiled at him. "We each went through similar experiences. It's what brought us all together." He made to ask her what hers had been. She pushed herself off the door and put her fingers to his lips to silence him. "In time I will tell you. I'm just not fully ready yet." Tristan nodded and kissed the fingers that were held to his lips tenderly. She moved them and kissed him passionately, and without pause, on the lips.

Kai walked slowly towards her room, hoping to give them some privacy and intimacy before she arrived. She was unaware to the silent figure that walked behind her. Watching her every move. When she reached the room, she saw the door was open and nobody was around. They had obviously moved off somewhere. She looked at their things; everything was still where they had left them. Vida's bed looked a little rumpled so they had been back. She placed the clothes she had worn earlier side-by-side on her bed. She was sick of wearing the dress, even if it had been a gift. She was about to pull the dress off when the door slammed behind her.

She jumped around startled, for some reason she half expected to see Lancelot standing there with that stupid grin on his face, but instead her eyes widened before narrowing to slits as she watched the intruder. The Bishop walked towards her and she led him in a dance around the fire in the middle of the room. She looked at him. He had no weapons and no guards.

"You're a fool." She told him simply. The Bishop laughed and looked at her.

"How so?" he enquired.

"No weapons, no guards. A girl could get offended at that." She replied. The Bishop only laughed longer and louder.

"Women cannot overpower men. They are too weak." He drawled out. She shrugged.

"I've overpowered many men before. And slit each of their throats." Both she and the Bishop stopped. He was unsure whether to believe what she said was true or not. He smiled as he continued their dance.

"You are still too weak and do not know the ways here." He looked her over lustfully, measuring up each part of her under the material.

"You will not touch me." She told him matter-of-factly. He smiled at her.

"So you know what I want?" She smiled maliciously at him. Her eyes glinting dangerously from the firelight between them.

"Everyone knows what you want." With that said, she jumped over the fire, catlike in her movements and landed heavily on top of the Bishop in a mass of blue material. His legs buckled under him from the force of the impact and he fell to the ground. She pulled a dagger out and pressed it close to his neck. But she had no need to. His head had connected with the floor and it had knocked him unconscious. She smiled, pushed herself up from the ground and ran from the room.

Later, Naomi and Tristan had walked hand in hand to the tavern. Vanora looked at her and sighed in relief. She had seen nothing of the three women since they had left when summoned. Naomi let go of Tristan's hand and walked over to the older woman.

"Vanora," she called cheerily. "Have you seen the other two?" Vanora looked at her. She had thought the three of them would have stuck together.

"No. I thought they were with you. Bors said that you went after Vida and then when the meeting was over Kai came after you." Naomi nodded her head.

"Vi must still be with Dagonet. He led her off somewhere when she was upset." Bors overheard the conversation.

"She'll be fine and safe with Dag. Don't worry." Naomi smiled and nodded.

"You're right." She turned to Vanora and gave a sweet smile. "Could I have a drink please?" Vanora smiled and handed the girl two cups. She bowed her head and walked off towards Tristan who was sitting with Galahad and Gawain. She handed him one of the cups and smiled brightly at him. She looked around. Arthur and Dagonet were the only ones missing. Lancelot was playing some sort of dice game with some Roman soldiers. She watched him as Vanora approached.

"Who wants another drink?" Vanora asked Lancelot and the soldiers he was losing to. Lancelot pulled her waist and sat her down on his knees.

"When are you going to leave Bors and come home with me?" He asked, starting to playfully kiss her neck. She slapped him and looked him straight in the eye.

"I thought another had taken your eye." Lancelot looked at her shocked. She smiled sweetly. "I was told by her friends that you might like her." Her tone changed and she became more serious. "Are you serious about her?" He looked at her dumbfounded.

"I think so." He managed to sputter out. "At least I can image a family with her. It's just getting past her friends. She doesn't trust me." Lancelot explained. Vanora then told him what Vida and Naomi had told her that afternoon. He nodded in understanding. He now knew why, all he had to do was gain her trust. She left him and saw the look Bors was giving them.

"Don't you go worrying. I was only telling him what to do about Kai." Vanora explained. Bors looked down at the baby in his arms, and then to Lancelot who was smirking at him, before the knight burst into laughter.

"You look nothing like him." Bors told the child. "You're all Bors."

Naomi looked at the three men around her. Galahad hit a dagger into the stool. It hit dead centre. Tristan threw his and it landed in the middle of Galahad's. Gawain looked up at him from where he sat, clearly as drunk as Galahad.

"How do you do that?" Gawain asked. Tristan looked at Naomi who showed she was impressed with the spectacle. She took her own dagger out that she had hidden and threw it into the end of Tristan's dagger. The three knights looked at her.

"Like that." She replied and took another mouthful of the bittersweet wine. It was Tristan's turn to look impressed.

"You ride horses like you are one, you throw weapons like an expert, you hunt and kill without second thinking, is there anything you don't do?" Galahad asked her. She smiled at him.

"I can't fly." She replied simply. They all laughed and another round of drinks appeared. They all drank and were merry.

Vanora seemed like she was run off her feet when Vida and Dagonet arrived. Vida moved away from Dagonet and headed straight for Naomi. The two women hugged each other briefly.

"I'm sorry I wouldn't talk to you." Vi said. Naomi shook it off.

"Don't worry about it." Naomi said. "Have you seen Kai? I'm getting a little worried about her. She hasn't shown up here all night." Vida shook her head and accepted a drink off Galahad. She smiled at him as she accepted the cup.

Vanora stood at the bar watching the two women and the knights. Kai had still not shown up.

"They want more." She said as she made to get more wine. Bors stopped her.

"Here. Be a mother to your son." He placed the baby in her arms and she started cooing over it. Dagonet reached the bar then and looked at Vida as he accepted a drink. "Dagonet, where you been? We've got plans to make." He followed Dagonet's look and saw him watching Vida and Galahad.

"Don't worry about him. She's completely yours." Vanora told him. He smiled down at his best friend's lover and nodded.

"Here, please. Sing." Bors told Vanora.

"No." She told him stubbornly, but he was already trying to drag her out onto the main floor of the tavern.

"It's your last one."

"No. I don't want to sing." Vanora pleaded.

"Come on."

"No, I'm trying to work." Vanora said as she was dragged onto the floor. Naomi and Vida looked up from where they were. Vida moved over to Dagonet and he smiled down at her as she leaned into him.

"Shut up!" Bors yelled over the talking of the tavern. "Vanora will sing." Vanora was still protesting until everyone was yelling at her to sing. Everyone moved forward now.

"Sing about home." Galahad shouted out. Vanora finally gave in and began singing.

"_Land of bear and land of eagle_

_Land that gave us birth and blessing_

_Land that called us ever homewards_

_We will go home across the mountains_

_We will go home_

_We will go home_

_We will go home across the mountains_

_We will go home singing our song…"_

All of the knights faces changed as Vanora sang. Each had a longing and desire to be back home and away from Briton and Rome. Naomi saw Arthur approach. Something was bothering him that much was clear. He looked at the faces of his knights and saw that they all wanted to go home.

"…_hear our singing, hear our longing_

_We will go home across the mountains_

_We will go home_

_We will go home_

_We will go home across the mountains."_

Naomi was sure that there was more to the song, but Vanora never sang it. She had not been the only one to notice Arthur, but as Arthur had turned to leave Jols shouted for him and the spell of wanting was broken as each of the knights and the two women came forward, as well as Jols who was filling up a cup for Arthur.

"Arthur!" Galahad called, glad that their commander had come to join them in their celebrations. "You're not completely Roman yet, right?" Galahad laughed.

"Rus!" Bors screamed and Vida jumped a bit in surprise. It had been quiet close to her. She rubbed her ear as if to give the remark that he had deafened her. Naomi laughed and pulled the woman to her. She placed an arm around Vi's shoulders. Vi grimaced. Naomi was drunk. It was the only time she was friendly like this.

"Knights, brothers in arms, your courage has been tested beyond all limits. But I must ask you now for one further trial." Arthur began, a grim look on his face. He took no joy in what he was saying. Naomi and Vi shifted and looked at each other concerned.

"Drink?" Bors asked indicating with his arm.

"We must leave on one final mission for Rome, before our freedom can be granted." Some of the knights laughed at this not believing what Arthur was telling them. "Above the wall, far in the north, there is a Roman family in need of rescue. They are trapped by Saxons. Our orders are to secure their safety." All of the knights had sobered now and believed in the words that Arthur spoke. The Romans had lied to them and had prolonged their freedom. None of them were happy.

"Let the Romans take care of their own." Bors told him, his anger getting the better of him.

"Above the wall is Woad territory." Gawain said, and Naomi gave him a swift kick to shut him up before he said anything that would worry Vi again. He took the hint and rubbed his shin.

"Our duty to Rome, if it was ever a duty, is done. Our pact with Rome is done." Galahad told them all. Bors turned on Arthur.

"Every knight here has laid his life on the line for you. For you." Bors told him pointing at him. He was close to being very angry, yet somehow he remained from striking anybody. "And instead of freedom, you want more blood? Our blood? You think more of Roman blood than you do of ours."

"Bors!" Arthur said, shutting the man up. He knew what each knight had done for him and not Rome. He needed no reminder of that. But this is what they had to do or be killed as deserters. "These are our orders. We leave at first light, and when we return, your freedom will be waiting for you. A freedom we can embrace with honour."

"I am a free man!" Bors yelled, setting his baby son crying. "I will choose my own fate!"

"Yeah, yeah. We're all going to die someday. If it's a death from a Saxon hand that frightens you, stay home." Tristan said offhandedly. Naomi was surprised at how similar he sounded to Larissa. The two women watched the events silently.

"Listen, if you're so eager to die, you can die right now." Galahad shouted at Tristan. Lancelot stood between them and pushed Galahad away from Tristan.

"Enough, enough!" He called as he did this. His thoughts drifting from both what Arthur had told them and worrying about where Kai was. She had told them that she would come here once she had found her friends. But she was still not here.

"I've got something to live for!" Galahad shouted, angry and annoyed that the freedom he had waited so long for was now denied to him.

"We all have something to live for." Vi told them. They all turned and looked at her, surprise showing in all their faces. Even Naomi's. "Arthur, the three of us will accompany you." He was about to protest, as was Dagonet. "Please don't argue about it. We're coming. You are not leaving us here with the Bishop alone. Besides, Val and Larissa may be up there and they'll want to see friendly faces." Vida looked up at Dagonet and smiled. All of them were shocked with what she had said, yet no one could argue her point.

"What will your leader say?" Arthur asked them.

"Leader? We have a leader now?" Naomi asked jokingly, trying desperately to lighten the mood. Some of the knights smiled slightly.

"I think he means Kai." Vi whispered to her, yet all heard clearly.

"Oh. Kai! She'll be with us." Naomi replied. Dagonet nodded his head.

"The Romans have broken their word. We have the word of Arthur. That is good enough. I'll prepare." He took Vida's arm and led her off, Naomi and Tristan following behind. "Bors? You Coming?" Dagonet asked his friend who was pacing out his rage.

"Of course I'm coming! Can't let you go on your own! You'll all get killed!" Some of the knights shifted uncomfortably where they stood. Bors looked at them. "I'm just saying what you're all thinking!" The five of them walked off towards the rooms. Bors looked like he had just been hit. "Vanora'll kill me." He muttered just audible.

"And you, Gawain?" Arthur asked the knight. Gawain took a mouthful of wine before answering. He nodded his head.

"I'm with you." He paused and glanced sidelong at Galahad. "Galahad as well." Galahad looked at Gawain shocked, but made no protest. He wanted to go now that Vida was. He could help protect her. He laughed slightly as he poured the rest of the wine on to the floor and smashed the jug it was in, before walking off after Gawain. Arthur looked at Lancelot questioningly, but before the knight could answer in any way, Arthur strode off into the night.

Kai had managed to find somewhere safe to hide herself from the Bishop. After the encounter, she did not want to see any one. The sound of Vanora's voice came silently on the wind as she caught snatches of the song. She and her friends should be home now. Safe and warm, curled up in front of the telly. As she thought about this she drifted off into sleep.

A while later Arthur walked into the stables and began to get his horses saddle ready. He thumped it back onto the stand.

"O merciful God, I have such need of your mercy now. Not for myself, but for my knights, for this is truly their hour of need." Lancelot entered the stable quietly, overhearing Arthur's prayer but saying nothing. "Deliver them from the trials ahead and I will repay you a thousandfold with any sacrifice you ask of me. And if, in your wisdom, you should determine, that that sacrifice must be my life for theirs, so that they may once again taste the freedom that's so long been denied to them. I will gladly make that covenant. My death will have a purpose. I ask no more than that." It was at this time that Lancelot made his presence known.

"Why do you always talk to God and not to me?" Arthur turned, startled by the voice. He eased a little as he saw it was Lancelot. "Oh, pray to whomever you pray that we don't cross the Saxons." Lancelot stood looking at Arthur.

"My faith is what protects me Lancelot. Why do you challenge this?" Arthur asked, perhaps looking for an argument to vent his own fury out on.

"I don't like anything that puts a man on his knees."

"No man fears to kneel before the God he trusts. Without faith, without belief in something, what are we?" Arthur asked, trying to dig deeper into his friend's beliefs.

"To try and get past the Woads in the north is insanity." Lancelot countered, ignoring the spark.

"Them we've fought before." Arthur replied, confident that the Woads would not be there biggest problem and that they would easily be able to defeat any that crossed their path.

"Not north of the wall!" Lancelot yelled.

Kai shifted where she lay. She could hear voices and they were annoying her.

"How many Saxons? Hm? How many?" Lancelot questioned. Arthur looked at him unanswering. "Tell me. Do you believe in this mission?"

"These people need our help. It is our duty to bring them out." Lancelot cut him off.

"I don't care about your charge. I don't give a damn about Romans, Briton, or this island. If you desire to spend eternity in this place Arthur, so be it. But suicide cannot be chosen for another." Lancelot shouted. Arthur was becoming more annoyed and frustrated that his friend could not see things how they were.

"And yet you choose death for this family!" Arthur shouted back. His own fury and annoyance coming out now.

"No! I choose life! And freedom for myself and the men!"

Kai shifted again as the voices got louder and louder. Didn't they know she was trying to sleep.

"How many times in battle have we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat? Outnumbered, outflanked, yet still we triumph. With you at my side, we can do so again. Lancelot, we are knights. What other purpose do we serve if not for such a cause?" Pleaded Arthur. He wanted desperately for Lancelot to understand his reasoning. They had to do this. It was the only thing stopping them from gaining their freedom.

"Arthur, you fight for a world that will never exist. Never. There will always be a battlefield. Just ask the women. They come from the future and still they fight. I will die in battle. Of that I'm certain. And hopefully a battle of my choosing." Lancelot was cut off from the rest of his speech as a blue shoe came flying through the air and struck him on the back of the head. He turned round and saw Kai sitting in some hay in one of the stalls. She looked as furious as they felt.

"Listen you morbid git! Shut up and go the hell away! I'm trying to sleep!" Lancelot looked at Arthur who was making his way towards the woman with the shoe in his hands. He passed it down to her. "Thank you." She said putting it back on.

"What happened to your room?" Lancelot asked. Kai laughed.

"The Bishop knows where we're sleeping. He tried to rape me but didn't get very far at all. I left him unconscious on the floor. Then I left and came here. I thought it would be a quiet place to sleep, but evidently I was wrong." Kai explained.

"Your friends have been worried about you." Lancelot told her. "You never showed at the tavern." Kai looked stricken. She had forgotten about them in her fury at the Bishop. All she had wanted was to find a safe place. Ironic that she chose a barn. Lancelot helped her to her feet.

"Thank you." She said brushing straw off the dress. "What were you two arguing about anyway?" Arthur looked at Lancelot.

"I have to make sure things are being prepared. Goodnight Kai." Arthur told her and left. She stared at the back of his head.

"Guess that leaves you to tell me." She said staring straight at Lancelot. Her hands were on her hips and he grinned down at her.

"Guess it does." He leaned on a wooden beam and looked her up and down. "We have another mission to do for Rome before we get our freedom. We have to go up north and rescue a Roman family there and bring them back before the Saxons get them." Lancelot explained.

"We're coming too. I'd better tell the other two." Kai said and began to climb over the beam.

"They already know. They were there when Arthur told us. They said you would come as well. Though I didn't quite believe them." She stopped climbing over the beam and looked at Lancelot. She sat straddled over the beam.

"Why do you always look at me like that?" she asked, softly. He looked at her face, shocked a little by the emotion in her eyes.

"Like what?" he asked. Not fully knowing how he looked at her.

"You look at me in the same way the Bishop does. Like I'm property or something. Only a possession and not a person." Lancelot took a step back from her as she finished climbing over the beam. "It's unnerving." Lancelot looked completely taken aback.

"I'm sorry if I make you feel uncomfortable. I don't mean to stare at you, only you're just so beautiful." Kai did a double take.

"You think so?" she asked dreamily. The same gaze as before quickly swept over her eyes before she realised who she was talking too. This was getting too unusual for her. In one day, three people had called her beautiful. He moved closer to her and removed some straw from her hair.

"Absolutely." He replied. She replied sweetly at him before punching him to the ground. He looked at her surprised and confused, as she straddled his hips. He could not move. Then he remembered what Vanora had told him. How could he have forgotten the advice she had given him already?

"You know, the boys in my class used to say that before the pinned me to the lockers or wall or whatever was handy at the time. Then they tried to remove my clothes. Do you have any idea how humiliating that was for me?" Lancelot shook his head, slightly afraid. "None of the teachers ever stopped them. It was by force that I managed to get away from them. It's because of them that I became strong. After that I never trusted men again. And I still don't. So what makes you think I'm going to trust you after all you've done is stared and flirted with me?" Lancelot looked somewhere between confused and scared.

"I don't know. But I can't trust you if you've pinned me to the ground." He retorted.

"Trust me? Why would you do that?" she asked confused.

"Because despite everything I really do think you're beautiful." He brushed her cheek softly with his hand.

"No tricks?" she whispered, slightly awed.

"None." He replied. She got off him and helped him to his feet.

"Sorry about that." She told him. He smiled genuinely at her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"No harm done." He told her. "But you might have to spend the night in my room." She stopped and looked at him furious. "This isn't a trick." He added quickly when he saw the look in her eyes. "Your friends are spending the night in Dagonet and Tristan's rooms and the Bishop knows where you're sleeping. It's the only logical thing to do. I promise now." He told her, leading her back to his room. "I won't do anything to you when you're asleep." She nodded her head in agreement and went with him.


	6. The Journey North of the Wall

Journey North of the Wall

The Priests looked the three women over briefly. Their backs were bleeding badly. Larissa still had not moved and Guinevere was becoming ever more worried about her cellmate. In the cell next door, Val lay half-conscious of the floor. It was her falling to the floor that had alerted the Priests.

"What shall we do?" One asked the other. "Their bodies must be cleansed before God's punishment." The other nodded his head.

"We will have to cauterise the wounds on their backs as best we can." He drawled out. "Here, help me." He told the other as he opened the cell where Larissa and Guinevere were.

They pulled Larissa out and she straightened herself out the best she could. She felt weak, weaker than what she should. The blood oozed out of her back and she gasped in pain as she tried to stretch her back but found only pain. They chained her back up against the wall. Her head fell forward and she could not see what they were doing. The second Priest that had spoken had placed a poker in the small fire that was kept going down there for a sort of light and minor heat source. Guinevere watched silently from her cell as the two men pushed the red-hot poker onto the wounds and sealed them as well as they could. Larissa could barely scream out her pain. Her face was a picture of agony but she was so weak and her throat was so dry that screaming was nearly impossible.

After they had finished with Larissa, they dumped her back in her cell with Guinevere. Guinevere moved over to Larissa once the Priests were gone and had a closer look at her back. The bleeding had stopped but the likelihood that the wounds would become infected was great. She put the woman's head on her lap and gently ran her fingers through the woman's hair. She jerked her head around as clear screams could be heard from behind. Val was now chained to the wall and having the same process done to her back. Before long Val was also dumped into her cell. She was shaking with the impact of the heat of the poker, but soon managed to calm herself.

"I'm alright." She managed to rasp out eventually. Her throat was dry and sore. "How's Lar?" She asked, hoping that the woman could hear her.

Guinevere looked down at the woman on her knees and gave a small smile.

"She sleeps." She replied. Val nodded her head. "As should you." Guinevere heard a quiet murmur before Val did eventually fall into a deep sleep. Guinevere watched over Larissa as she slept, getting very little herself.

Vida opened her eyes slowly. Hoping that it had not all been a dream. She felt a strong arm around her shoulders and a warm body under her fingertips. She smiled. They had spent some of the previous night in gentle love-making. Although Dagonet appeared harsh to the eyes, he had been very gentle with her. She was surprised herself to see how easily she had grown fond of him. Maybe even love him. No. She would not think that. Not yet. Not until everything was certain. A hand brushed her cheek and she looked up and saw Dagonet looking down at her, watching.

"Good morning." He said. She smiled shyly.

"Good morning." She replied. They looked at each other for a long time before a banging at the door startled them. Vida jumped and landed on the floor with most of the covers over her. "Ow!" Dagonet moved swiftly to the side of the bed and looked down at her. "I'm okay." She smiled back, quickly, before he could ask her anything. He nodded and looked at the door.

"Who is it?" He called. The door opened and Galahad came in. He gaped at the sight of Vida sat on the floor with the blankets around her. Dagonet kept his eyes on the young man. "What is it?" This startled Galahad out of his trance. He was heart broken.

"It's almost time." He replied and walked out the door closing it behind him. Vida looked up at Dagonet.

"Will he be alright do you think?" She asked. Dagonet nodded.

"Yes. I think it was a shock to him more than anything." He replied, getting off the bed and helping her up. They dressed quickly. Instead of putting on her work clothes, she pulled out of her bag a pair of leather trousers and a black jumper. She put them on wordlessly as Dagonet watched her get dressed. "You look stunning." He told her and pulled her into a kiss. She pulled away from him after a while.

"We'd best be going." She smiled, and swung a smaller bag over her shoulder. Dagonet took her hand as he led her down the corridors.

Naomi and Tristan had been occupied in the same events as Vida and Dagonet. Naomi blushed violently, and smiled helplessly, when she woke up and found Tristan wrapped around her. She remembered the previous night and continued to blush. She stroked the small tattoos on his cheek gently and he twitched slightly. She gave a small giggling and continued to do it. Eventually he woke up and she laughed aloud. He looked at her confused, but was glad that she was not crying. She snuggled up to him again, trying to keep warm. It was freezing cold in the small room. They lay silently in each others arms until banging at the door roused them both.

"Who the hell is that?" Naomi asked. Tristan shrugged.

"Who is it?" he called and Gawain opened the door and stepped in. He gaped at the two for a slight moment before turning his back to Naomi a bit.

"It's almost time to leave." He told them. "Everyone's meeting in the stables." Tristan smiled slightly as he saw Gawain turn. Naomi shrugged.

"We'll be there soon." Tristan told him. Gawain was about to leave.

"Are Kai and Vi up yet?" Naomi asked before he left.

"Galahad went to wake up Vida but nobody knows where Kai's gone." Naomi groaned.

"Brilliant." Had she had some clothes on she would have got up then and there but as she was naked, she decided to spare Gawain some embarrassment by staying in the bed. "Thank you." Gawain nodded and left. As soon as the door was closed Naomi was up and getting dressed quickly to save some warmth from the bed. She put on brown leather trousers and a tightly fitted brown leather top. Tristan watched her dress from the bed. "Aren't you getting up?" she asked playfully.

"With you dressed like that?" He smiled. "Why don't you come here and I'll help you take them off." She smiled over her shoulder as she finished lacing up her knee high boots.

"Maybe later." She smirked. He jumped out of the bed and pulled her to him.

"Maybe?" he asked.

"Definitely." She replied and kissed him deeply. He dressed quickly as she put her weaponry on. A sword around her waist, daggers in her boots, and another small dagger in her belt. After they were ready he led her through the corridors.

On the way they bumped into Vida and Dagonet. Naomi hugged the woman and they smiled.

"Kai's gone AWOL." Naomi told her. Vida groaned.

"I'm going to kill her." She said. "Any ideas?"

"None." Naomi replied.

"Well, she'll just have to meet us there. I can't be bothered to go looking for her. And shouldn't she be in the room?" Vida asked. Naomi nodded and the four headed off. When they reached the room the saw the room in slight disarray. Both women rolled their eyes and led their men to the stables.

"What happened to looking for Kai?" Tristan asked.

"She didn't sleep there." Naomi told him. "Which means she could be anywhere. And I'm with Vi. I am not hunting all over this bloody place for her. She can meet us in the stables." The two men allowed themselves to be dragged to the stables. Bors, Gawain and Galahad were already there. Galahad avoided eye contact with Dagonet and Vida and Naomi gave her a questioning look. Vida just shook her head. Lancelot and Arthur had not arrived yet either.

Though Lancelot had begun on the floor somehow he and Kai were now sharing the small bed. He grinned as he looked at her. She looked peaceful and at ease. He tried to move silently out of the bed before she woke up. However, he found that he could not move his legs or his body. Some time, during the night, their legs had become intertwined with each other and it was now impossible for Lancelot to move without waking Kai up. He shrugged and leant back into the pillows. It was still early and he decided that it would be a bad idea to wake Kai up. She snored lightly in his ear and moved her body round so that her face was facing his. Her arm snaked around his stomach and he was pinned to the bed. Her head lay gently on his chest. He moved his arm and placed it gently on her shoulder. She stirred slightly at the touch but did not wake. He smiled serenely and lay quietly.

After a while of lying like this a harsh knock at the door sounded. Lancelot looked venomously at the door. Kai moved slightly. Another harsh knock sounded.

"Lancelot. It's almost time to leave." Jols called through the door. Lancelot tried to break free from Kai's grip. The knocking commenced again. "Lancelot!" Kai woke up and looked at him through half-closed eyes.

"Aren't you going to get that?" she asked groggily. "So I can go back to sleep." Lancelot grinned at her.

"I would, only you seem intent on keeping me here." She looked confused for a moment and realised what position she was lying in.

"Oh, sorry." She removed her arm and sat up. The knocking started over.

"Come in." Lancelot called sitting on the edge of the bed. The door opened and Jols stood there. He did not know what to make of the two. Kai had ultimate bed hair. It was a complete mess, as was Lancelot's. It looked like the two had been involved in the same activities as their friends.

"It's almost time to leave." He repeated, he bowed slightly and closed the door before Kai could ask any questions about her friends. Kai frowned and got out of the bed. Lancelot was almost dressed. She waited until he had finished and kicked him out the room. He would have protested but it had grown late and they needed to make a move soon. Kai dressed quickly into a pair of leather trousers, her knee length boots, and a leather top. Her outfit was the same design as Naomi's only the colour was all black.

"Ow!" She cried as she put the top on. Lancelot burst through the door, afraid that she had injured herself further. Kai quickly turned away from the door so he would not see her in her underwear. She had already fought with her trousers and boots and it was only the top left.

"Are you alright?" he asked her worriedly. She turned to look at him, shocked at the concern that had filled his voice and shook her head.

"My shoulder. I can't get my top on with it bandaged up." Lancelot approached her and she backed away slightly.

"We have to get going soon." His simple explanation provided her with a nudge that it was getting late and haste was important. She nodded her head and he helped her gently put the top on. She was amazed at the kindness he showed her. It was different to his attitude up until now. She wondered what had changed him. He helped her tie up the sides of the top and before long she was ready. Her sword hung at her hip and her bow and three arrows hung across her back. She silently stuck a dagger in her boot.

"Ready." He led her out of the room and through several passageways before they entered the bright sunlight of the day. She smiled as the warmth of the sun hit her face. "Is it always so warm here?" she asked.

"No. Normally it rains. We must be having better fortune lately." He replied. They walked across a small courtyard and into the stable. Galahad was prancing around the stable on his horse whilst the others were making sure their weapons were sharp enough. Kai moved away from Lancelot and headed over to Naomi and Vi. They looked at her skeptically.

"Where did you spend the night?" Naomi asked, teasing her playfully. Kai rolled her eyes. She should have known this would have happened.

"Nothing happened." She told them.

"Likely story." Vi replied. "When we meet up with Val I'll have her get the truth out of you." The woman's optimism made the other two smile.

"So what did you two do last night?" Kai asked, grinning to herself, and teasing them back.

"Secret." Naomi whispered in her ear and walked off to Tristan. Kai's grin turned into a smile.

"Not telling." Vi replied and after securing her medicines walked off to give them to Dagonet who then tied them to his saddle. Kai stood where she was in silent laughter. Lancelot came over to her.

"What's so funny?" he asked her. She shook her head, unable to answer. Arthur entered then, looking gloomy. Galahad rode his horse around Arthur as he went. Arthur's footsteps never faltered as he approached the others.

As Arthur was finalising some details with Jols, the Bishop and his loyal follower came into the stable. The Bishop looked around at the knights assembled there. His gaze lingered on the women. When he looked at Kai his gaze became somewhat hateful. Dagonet walked into the Bishop's shoulder and stood beside Vi protectively. The Bishop nodded his head in grim disapproval.

"One of these women must stay here." The Bishop stated. Kai stood up and walked over to the Bishop.

"We are all going." She stated firmly. "And there is very little you can do about it." The Bishop looked her up and down. Kai was disgusted with him.

"I still have not repaid you for yesterday." The Bishop spoke. Kai looked at him suspiciously. "I owe you for what you did to me." All of the knight's looked at each other questioningly, except for Lancelot and Arthur. Even the two women gave each other a quick glance. Naomi moved to just behind Kai. Kai gave her a silent signal and Naomi hesitantly moved away.

"And just how do you expect to repay me?" Kai asked. She had a feeling she knew what was coming but wanted to make sure. Her years of fighting and training had not dulled her commonsense as it had her father. The Bishop smiled and called outside. Several Roman officers came in and moved towards Kai. She stood there laughing.

"I'm almost insulted, Bishop." He looked at her questioningly. "You think these men can defeat me?"

"That is the idea. Do you intend to go with them quietly?" Kai stopped walking and looked at the Bishop intently, smiling at him.

"I'll tell you what." As she spoke she moved towards the Bishop. "I'll give them a fair chance to survive. I won't use any weapons and if they can defeat me I will stay here."

"Agreed." The Bishop stated. Kai did not move. Arthur stood between them.

"Bishop I must strongly protest that this is not fair." Kai looked at him and glared. Arthur had his back to her and never saw it.

"It is her choice. Persuade her to stay here quietly then." The Bishop told him. He turned and looked at Kai. Death was written in her eyes. Arthur stood apart from the others.

"There's more." Kai continued. "If, however, I do manage to defeat them. You let the three of us leave with the knights." The Bishop considered this for a moment. "Do you agree?" After a small while the Bishop nodded his head.

"Agreed." Kai clapped her hands excitedly.

"Excellent." She took off her weapons belt and handed it to Naomi.

"I don't think this is a good idea, Kai." Naomi whispered to her.

"No harm, there are only six of them. I can defeat six Roman soldiers can't I?" Kai asked pouting slightly.

"Without breaking a sweat." Vi replied coming over to them. Kai smiled at her comment. "That's the problem." Kai's smile vanished and she moved over to the men. "When you're ready." She opened her arms invitingly.

"Would now be a bad time to remind her of her shoulder and leg?" Vida asked Naomi.

"Probably. But it will serve her right if she's in a lot of pain after this. What the hell did she do anyway?" Lancelot looked at them.

"Apparently the Bishop found out where the three of you were supposed to be sleeping and made advances on Kai." Lancelot explained to them.

"That explains why he's pissed off with her." Vida said. They stood for the rest of the fight in silence.

Two of the men had spears and ran at her with them. She jumped up and landed on them keeping her balance as she ran up them and kicked both men in the head. The next two attacked her with swords. She did an array of back-flips and somersaults to avoid the blades and finally managed to knock both men unconscious. The next two looked at each other questioningly before attacking aimlessly and falling flat on their faces. Kai stood and looked around her.

"Guess I win." She told the Bishop, limping towards Naomi and Vi. She was not even breathing hard, never mind sweating. But her shoulder and leg were hurting worse than before. "And we leave." She told the others. They looked at her impressed, whilst the Bishop was furious as he turned back to Arthur.

"If you've opened either of them up, I'm not healing you." Vida turned on her. Kai pulled a face at her. Her wounds just stung a little, and hurt worse.

"They're fine." Kai told her. Vida and Naomi turned their backs on her and she grasped her leg in pain and sat down to massage it. Those kicks and back flips had been a mistake. Lancelot came over to her. She smiled at him. "I'm fine. Really." She reassured him. He did not look convinced but sat beside her.

"To represent the Holy Court, my trusted secretary Horton." He looked back at the man and he came forward. "Will accompany you on your quest." The Bishop spoke through gritted teeth. Arthur pondered this for a minute and decided that in the Bishop's current mood rejecting him would not be advisable.

"Jols, find him a horse." Arthur replied. Jols looked slightly startled at Arthur's command. Surely he was not to come with him. Jols did as he was told.

"This way." He told Horton, and led him away to get a horse.

"God's speed as you fulfil your duty to Rome." The Bishop blessed. Arthur glared at him.

"My duty is also to my men." Arthur told him. The Bishop nodded his head slightly.

"Then get them home."

Vida climbed up in front of Dagonet again, whilst Naomi and Kai each took their own horses they had ridden yesterday. Within moments they were riding through the fort and towards the wall. The wall looked impressive in its full state. The three women had only ever seen it as it was in their time. Broken down with gaps in it. A complete ruin. But looking at it as it was now, it seemed that anything was possible.

They rode across fields and through woods. When they were just beginning to feel easy about the mission when Tristan spoke.

"Woads. They're tracking us." They stopped where they were and all looked around from their saddles to see if they could see any. Kai cursed silently. Nothing was ever going to go right for them. She sighed and looked to Naomi who nodded confirmation. Vida shifted slightly in her seat. She did not want another fight so soon.

"Where?" Arthur asked.

"Everywhere." Naomi replied. Her eyes shifted from one side to the other as she tried to count how many she could hear moving. They slowly made their way forward. Ever watchful of the faces that watched them. Without warning rope that looked like barbed wire sprung out of nowhere. Some of the horses reared as they were pulled backwards. They turned their horses around and made to go a different way. Arrows were shot from high in the trees. Naomi looked at Kai.

"I only got three left and I ain't wasting them." She replied, without being asked anything. Naomi nodded her head in understanding and avoided an arrow that was aimed for her head. More arrows appeared, narrowly avoiding all of the riders. Vida looked terrified in her seat. Dagonet squeezed her softly and she tried to ease herself of her worry and fear. She was safe with him. She knew she was. So why was she still afraid? Naomi and Kai both grabbed arrows that were aimed for their chests and threw them on the floor. Kai sneered at them. Surely this was not their best? They turned again and rode in a different direction. More barbed wire rope sprung out of nowhere again blocking their path. They stopped again.

"Get back!" Lancelot yelled behind him. He was barely heard.

"Get back!" Bors yelled, repeating the command. They all heard his deep rumbling voice and moved backwards again. They rode again in yet another direction. The horses were beginning to buck slightly at the arrows that were barely missing them. Kai whispered something low into her horse's ear and he calmed. Arrows barely missed Dagonet and Vida. She held her breath as he urged his horse forward. This time their path was blocked by wooden spikes coming out of the ground. Kai cursed loudly this time.

"This is getting ridiculous!" She called. Naomi nodded her head.

"This way." Arthur called as more arrows narrowly missed the knights and their companions. Arthur led them in a different direction but their path was blocked again this time by Woads with spears.

"Back!" Bors yelled and they turned once more and headed back the way they had come. This time the Woads chased them through the tracks. Kai was tempted to turn and fight them but the glare Vida gave her was enough to dissuade her. They were back to where they had first been blocked. Kai rolled her eyes and Naomi looked ever watchful around them. They were surrounded and ripe for the killing. A horn blew out from nowhere and the man with the arrow pointed at Arthur hesitated. He drew back the bow again and the horn sounded once more.

"What are you waiting for?" Gawain called out to them. Obviously as annoyed as Kai for the escapades that they had been led on. The horn called again and the man led the Woads off. All of them disappeared. Kai looked to Naomi who had not left Tristan's side the entire chase. She nodded her head at Kai and Kai relaxed. Lancelot saw this and stood his horse beside hers.

"Why do you relax?" he asked her.

"Because they're gone." Kai replied simply.

"_Inish._ Devil Ghosts." Dagonet called.

"Why would they not attack?" Galahad asked the question they were all thinking.

"Merlin doesn't want us dead." Arthur replied simply. Kai jumped down, off her horse. With a few swings of her sword, the barbed wire rope broke and the path was made clear for them. She sheathed her sword and got back on her horse.

"I think we should leave this place." Naomi told them and they all moved out.

After a few hours of silence it began to rain. Kai looked up at the sky with venom in her eyes. Naomi and Vida laughed at her. The knights looked at them in surprise. It was getting dark and they would not make it by nightfall. Kai ignored her friends and rode beside Arthur.

"We need to stop for the night. Know anywhere nearby that would do for shelter?" Kai asked him. Arthur looked at her. He was amazed that this woman could give so much from her companions and yet ask for nothing in return. Her friends would willingly give their lives for her and her for them. But it was the same for him and his men. Only he did want something from them. And Rome had made him ask for it.

"Yes. There is a clearing up ahead that would do." Naomi overheard this.

"I'll go make sure that it's safe." She told them and rode off. Tristan looked at Arthur who nodded his head. Without further invitation Tristan rode after her.

"It seems that your people have made certain connections with mine." Arthur commented after some silence. There was a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he spoke.

"Certainly seems that way." Kai replied, grinning.

"Everyone, but you. Why is that?" Kai looked straight ahead of her. The smile gone.

"I have problems trusting people." She replied simply. It was more than that but she did not want to talk about it. Arthur sensed it and dropped the subject. Lancelot rode slightly behind them and heard what they had said. He knew some of it from Kai's outburst last night. But even her friends had said that they did not know everything.

They reached the clearing and Naomi and Tristan already had a fire going and some rabbits cooking on it. The fire had a shelter on top of it that stopped the rain from putting it out. Jols took the horses as they dismounted and tied them up and saw to their needs. Everyone else gathered around the fire. It was dark now and they could barely see their hands in front of their faces. The knights all huddled in their cloaks. Keeping the rain out the best they could. Naomi had her head leaning on Tristan's shoulder and Vida was sat in front of Dagonet who had his arms around her. Kai sat by herself with the rain pouring down on her and nothing to stop it. She looked furious and drowned.

"Ah! I can't wait to leave this island. If it's not raining, it's snowing. If it's not snowing, it's foggy." Gawain spoke. Kai looked up at him. In her opinion, he seemed the kindest of the knights.

"And that's the summer." Lancelot added on. They laughed at that. Naomi nodded her head in agreement. Nothing much had changed over the hundreds of years. It was still the same in their time. Except for global warming and bigger buildings and cities, she might have thought she was still home. She realised then, with a sudden start, that she did not miss home at all. All her friends were here. Except Larissa and Val, but she expected that it would not be long before they came across them.

"The rain's good. It washes all the blood away." Bors spoke up. They had all been quiet on their journey and were now making up for it.

"It doesn't help the smell." Dagonet replied. They laughed again. The mood was lighter between them then what it had been all day. It was nice, and Kai found herself enjoying it, despite the rain.

"Hey Bors," Lancelot called to the older man. Kai could sense he was about to stir things. "Do you intend to take Vanora and all your little bastards back home?"

"Oh, I'm trying to avoid that decision. By getting killed." They all laughed again. Except Vida.

"If you die, who will take care of them?" she asked. Lancelot smirked.

"I'd be happy to do the honours." Lancelot replied before Bors had time to. His comment was ignored.

"Dagonet, she wants to get married and give the children names." Bors spoke to the man.

"Women." Tristan spoke before he knew it. Naomi punched him playfully in the stomach, yet it was hard enough for a warning. "The children already have names, don't they?"

"Just Gilly. It was too much trouble so we gave the rest of them numbers." Bors replied.

"That's interesting." Lancelot spoke, seeming sincere. "I thought you couldn't count?" Everyone laughed and Kai shook her head. Just when she thought he was being serious it turns out he was not.

"You know I never thought I'd get back home alive. And now I got the chance I don't want to leave my children."

"Don't speak too soon. We still got to live through this." Naomi told him. They nodded their heads in agreement.

"I daresay we'll live." Kai said, indicating to herself, Vida and Naomi. "But these poor bastards are screwed." They all laughed and drank.

"You'd miss them too much? The children, I mean." Dagonet asked once the laughter had died down a little.

"I'd take them with me. I like the little bastards. They mean something to me. Especially number three. He's a good fighter." Bors replied. Kai sneezed and shivered. Vida shook her head. Lancelot opened his cloak and she climbed beside him and wrapped it tight around her as best he could. She glared at her friends to say anything. They backed down. Gob smacked.

"That's because he's mine." Lancelot laughed and Gawain almost choked on his drink. Everyone laughed. Kai smiled slightly. The heat of the fire and the warmth of the cloak made her sleepy. Before she knew it, she had fallen backwards and her head rested on Lancelot's shoulder as she slept soundly.

"I'm going for a piss." Bors said, unimpressed with Lancelot. He got up and walked into the rain. Kai shivered slightly. Vida and Naomi moved closer to them.

"She's asleep. Really asleep." Vida said looking at Naomi.

"Can't be. She wouldn't fall asleep on him." Naomi looked at her. "Would she?" Vida shrugged.

"That would mean trying to work out the deeper recesses of Kai's mind and I'd rather not go there. But do you think she could really trust him?" Naomi moved a hand over Kai's eyes. Nothing. No movement at all. She snored lightly then.

"Bloody hell! She really is asleep." Naomi told Vida and they moved back into the warmth of their men's arms. Soon they were all asleep. Lancelot had some trouble trying to get comfortable on the ground, whilst trying to keep his cloak around him and Kai and not waking Kai up. He finally managed it after some time of fussing and keeping the others awake. Naomi and Vida still could not believe that Kai had gone to sleep on him. So far she had given the impression that she hated him too much. They tried to shrug it off and went to sleep.

The next morning as they continued riding towards their destination Kai stopped abruptly. Lancelot's horse almost collided with hers. He was about to ask her what was wrong when he noticed she was looking up. He followed her gaze and saw a sword sticking to a tree branch. Kai looked at Vida and Naomi.

"Look familiar?" She asked them. Vida's eyes went wide with shock.

"It's Larissa's." Vida whispered. Kai nodded.

"Certainly looks like hers. Naomi why don't you look around a little. Val's may be nearby." Naomi nodded and got down from her horse and started to walk off.

"Hey! Wait for me Nai." Vida called and Dagonet helped her down from the horse and she ran after Naomi. Kai started to stand on her saddle. Lancelot grabbed the reins and held the horse steady.

"Thanks." Kai told him. He smiled at her.

"Anything for a beautiful lady." He replied. She felt her cheeks go slightly red as she reached up for the sword. Luckily no one saw her face. She jerked the blade free and her horse bucked lightly. She fell to the ground with a hard thump.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, holding the sword tightly in her hand. She looked at the blade. A panther was creeping up it. It was definitely Larissa's there was no mistaking that detail. "I thought you were keeping that horse steady?" Kai asked Lancelot from the ground.

"I'm very sorry, my lady." Kai tightened her fists.

"Kai. My name is Kai!" she yelled at him. He smiled sardonically at her as she got up off the ground and then onto her horse. Naomi and Vida soon returned. A sword grasped tightly in Vida's hands. "Val's?" she asked. Naomi nodded.

"Val's. We could only find the swords. No bodies. It looks like they lost a fight."

"That's not like them." Kai said. Vida was shaking her head.

"They didn't lose as such. They gave themselves up. They at least are more sensible than you two." Dagonet pulled Vida back up onto the horse and the knights sat looking at the three women.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked, noticing the swords.

"These swords belong to our two missing friends. They may be nearby." Kai explained.

"Your friends are here?" Arthur asked. Kai nodded her head. "If the Woads do not have them, then Marius does. His is the only place nearby."

"Then let's get going." Naomi said, urging her horse forward. If Larissa and Val were nearby then they would need rescuing and no time could be wasted. Tristan was close behind Naomi as she sped off, some of the others followed close behind them. Kai sat looking at the blade a moment. Arthur and Lancelot watched her.

"I hope your friends are alive." Arthur said, trying to reassure her. Kai smiled.

"As do I. And if they are alive, then they're going to need their weapons." Kai urged her horse onward and Lancelot and Arthur followed. It was not long before they reached Marius's home.


	7. Friends Reunited

Friends Reunited

**A/N:** I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to post up another chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!!

Friends Reunited

They reached Marius' home in next to no time. With the hopes that Larissa and Valerie were being held there a new hope had sprung up in the three women's chest that made Naomi and Kai spur their horses onward. The knights followed close behind. Kai and Naomi reined in a little as they saw the white walls that surrounded a house and a small garden. Arthur took the lead point with everyone else following close behind. As they approached the wall the gates shut and the guards looked down at them uncertain whether they were friend or foe.

"Who are you?" One guard called down from the top of the wall.

"I am Arthur Castos, Commander of the Sarmatian Knights, sent by Bishop Germanius of Rome." Arthur replied. The guard looked at the others.

"Open the gate." He called and as the gate opened, Marius approached the knights with two guards following him. As the knights waited as patiently as they could the local village people gathered closer, ignoring their work for the time being. The sight of the strangers had intrigued them and they wanted to know why they had come.

"It is a wonder you have come. Good Jesus. Arthur and his knights." Marius greeted them. As he spoke he reached out to stroke Galahads horse but Galahad moved his horse away from Marius's touch. Marius was angered by the action yet continued. "You have fought the Woads. Vile creatures."

Arthur ignored his words. He should be on his way to Rome now and his men back to their homelands. Not out on a rescue mission for an arrogant man like Marius. "Our orders are to evacuate you immediately."

"But that…that is impossible." Marius replied.

"Nothing in life is impossible, merely improbable." Vida called from Dagonet's horse. Marius looked at the woman and then at her two companions. He sneered at them. Kai arched an eyebrow at Naomi and she tilted her head slightly trying to gain a better bearing of the man. Kai scanned the faces the guards for signs that their clothes looked familiar or that the two swords that were now carefully tied to Kai's saddle looked familiar as well.

"Who are these women?" Marius asked.

"Friends." Arthur replied.

"Warriors." Lancelot added.

"Hunters of the supernatural and the paranormal." Kai corrected. Lancelot smiled at her and at the expression Marius wore.

"Hunters of the what?" He asked.

"Of the paranormal and supernatural." Vida replied.

"Basically any freaky shit that happens we look into. If it was done by something not human we hunt it and kill it." Marius nodded his head dumbfounded at Naomi's words.

"Which is Alecto?" Arthur called, wanting this ordeal to be over as quickly as possible.

"I am Alecto." A boy from the top of the wall called down. After he spoke he and his mother came down to the gates.

"Alecto is my son. And everything we have is here, in the land given to us by the Pope of Rome." Marius added to Arthur.

"He sounds almost proud of that fact." Kai whispered loud enough for Naomi to hear. Naomi nodded. Now was not the time to remind Kai of everyone's religious positioning or to get into a religious argument either.

"Well, you're about to give it to the Saxons." Lancelot told Marius harshly. Marius looked startled by the news. He had heard of no Saxons close by that could be such a threat.

"They're invading from the north." Arthur told him. Marius gave a small laugh.

"Then Rome will send an army." Arthur rolled his head as if trying to rid his neck of an ache.

"They have. Us. We leave as soon as you're packed." Arthur ordered. Alecto and his mother stood behind Marius watching the two men battle with their words.

"I refuse to leave." Marius declared defiantly. Arthur sighed as Marius turned his attention to the farmers and villagers that were in his care. "Go back to work! All of you!" Kai rode up beside Arthur as the guards started to repeat Marius's orders and pushed the villagers back to make them go back to their jobs.

Arthur, Kai and Naomi dismounted and followed Marius. Marius shrunk backwards slightly as the three leather clad fighters approached him. "If I fail to bring you and your son back my men can never leave this land. So you're coming with me if I have to tie you to my horse and drag you all the way to Hadrian's Wall myself." Arthur paused for a moment. Kai and Naomi shared a look hat said 'We are never getting on his bad side'. "My Lord." Arthur turned to Marius's wife. Lady, my knights are hungry." She looked at Marius to see what she should do.

"Go." He told her and she turned to get food and water for the knights. Marius stared at Arthur for a small time before turning himself. Before he could move off anywhere Kai and Naomi held an arm each.

"Excuse me sir. But we have some questions for you." Marius looked at the hands that held him then at the faces. The two young women were skilled, that he could tell by looking at them. But they could not know that two women like them had been found a few days before. Could they?

"And what do you want to ask me?" He drawled out. Kai smiled menacingly.

"Well, you see, we have reason to believe that you know where are two companions are." Naomi told him.

"And if you don't tell us the truth then we just might have to harm you." Marius stammered with his words.

"You would not dare harm a Roman citizen."

"I wouldn't no. But my friend here will. She's very good at torture and getting the right answers out of people." Marius looked over at Kai. Her eyes were sparkling and she was itching to harm him. He reminded her slightly of the Bishop, which was enough to stir up some of the anger in her.

"How do you know that I ever seen these friends of yours?" Marius asked.

"You flinched slightly when you saw their weapons tied to my saddle, when you looked at Vida over there it were of disbelief, and when you saw our clothes you looked at them with interest instead of the oddness that they have been getting." Naomi shook her head at Kai's speech.

"No wonder you're a mechanic. You can't speak a sentence correctly can you? 'The oddness that they have been getting'. Honestly. It should have been: 'Instead of the odd looks that we have been receiving', or 'the weird looks' would have done." Naomi stood muttering for a short while. Marius looked at the two girls.

"Oh, and there was also the looks that some of your guards were giving us. Also very different from what we have been receiving." Kai told him making a point of using the correct terms that Naomi had just pointed out. Naomi nodded at her.

"A bit better I agree. But it could still use some work."

"Bloody actors. Think they know everything about speech because they rehearse it day in and day out." Kai muttered under her breath. Marius tried to get out of the grip the women held him in but they tightened it and he remained still.

"Now listen to us very carefully. We know you have our friends. What we want to know now is where they are?" Naomi asked him. Marius shook his head.

"We let them go. We could not afford to feed them so we let them go." Kai and Naomi let his arms free and smiled at him.

"You buddy boy, are going to die."

"Hopefully by our hands." Naomi told him. Marius back away quickly.

"Keep those women away from me." He ordered his guards. Kai and Naomi turned and headed back to the others.

"Any luck?" Lancelot asked them.

"They're here somewhere." Kai replied. "We just don't know where."

Arthur looked around them, one of the villagers stood watching him. Almost at the same time Arthur and Vida saw a group of people standing around. Vida got Dagonet to let her down and walked towards the people, Arthur close to her. The knights look bored with Arthur's action yet both Kai and Naomi seemed to follow Vida towards the people. Arthur drew his sword out of its scabbard and held it firmly in his hands. The villager that had waited and watched approached Arthur and started to talk to him.

"Sir, you're famous. You're Arthur aren't you? I'm Ganis. I'm a good fighter and I'm smart. I'd serve you proudly." Arthur walked on ignoring the man as best he could. Vida had stopped a little distance away and Arthur approached her. He saw what the people had been looking at. Vida had her medicines close to hand. "Sir?"

"Who is this man?" Arthur asked Ganis harshly.

"He's our village elder." Ganis replied hesitantly.

"What is this punishment for?" Nobody answered him. "Answer me!" He ordered of Ganis.

"He defied our master Marius. Most of the food we grow is sent out by sea to be sold. He asked that we keep a little more for ourselves that's all." The more Ganis spoke the bolder his speech became. "My arse has been snapping at the grass I'm so hungry. You're from Rome. Is it true that Marius is a spokesman for God and that it's a sin to defy him?" Arthur looked at the man, and saw Alecto standing close by with guards. Arthur was enraged with what Marius had done to his people and that he had tied up and beaten an old man just for asking for some more food. It was dishonourable and shameful. Arthur looked at all those who stood around.

"I tell you now. Marius is not of God. And you, all of you, were free from your first breath!" Arthur swung his sword down at the elder's chains and cut him free. Vida swiftly moved to his side and looked over the wounds. "Help this man. Help him!" An old woman came forward with a cloak and knelt next to Vida. She smiled up at the old woman.

"His wounds will heal nicely. Just bathe them often and keep them bandaged up." The old woman smiled thanks at Vida unable to say anything. Vida nodded and returned to Arthur's side.

"Now hear me! A vast and terrible army is coming this way. They will show no mercy, spare no one. Those of you who are able should gather your things and begin to move south towards Hadrian's Wall. Those unable shall come with us." Arthur turned to Ganis. "You, serve me now. Get these people ready." Arthur walked off with Vida trailing behind trying to keep up with his steps as Ganis behind her shouted orders behind her to try and motivate the people to move quickly. Vida stopped trying to match Arthur's strides and walked beside Naomi and Kai.

"They are here. I can sense Val." She told the other two.

"We know. It's just finding out where they are." Kai replied.

After a while, wagons were ready to be driven off and the people had gathered all their moveable belongings with them. Marius and his family were still making preparations when Tristan and Naomi rode back into the compound. They had been off scouting to see if they could see the Saxon force. Naomi dismounted and walked over to her friends. Tristan rode over to Arthur, noticing two men bricking a door, with guards watching their progress. Tristan looked back at Naomi and jerked his head in the direction of the door. Naomi nodded and turned to her friends.

"What's that all about?" she asked, slightly out of breath from the ride. Vida and Kai looked over to the door.

"You know, I've only just noticed that." Kai said and began to walk over. The other two followed close behind.

As Tristan reached Arthur he gave his report.

"They have flanked us to the east. They're coming from the south, trying to cut off our escape. They'll be here before nightfall." Arthur looked at Tristan, worry in his eyes.

"How many?" he asked, slightly dreading the number.

"An entire army." Arthur shook his head.

"And the only way out is to the south?" Arthur asked, slightly discouraged by the turn of events, but he had nobody to blame but himself for insisting that everyone come with them. Well, he could blame Marius as well for taking his sweet time packing up.

"East." Replied Tristan. "There is a trail heading east. Across the mountains. It means we have to cross behind Saxon lines, but that's the road we should take." It was then that Tristan noticed the wagons and the people bustling about for the first time. "Arthur, who are all these people?"

"They're coming with us." Arthur replied. Tristan looked dumbstruck at Arthur and shook his head.

"Then we'll never make it." He said with a slight unbelievable laugh. Arthur then noticed that Kai, Naomi and Vida were making there way over to the guards and the men. All stopped in their tracks as drums sounded up, distant in the background. Kai and Naomi looked at each other. They knew what it meant. Vida saw the look that passed between them.

"Ah, crap!" She said. "Kai tell me truthfully, what are our chances of survival?" Kai looked at Vida and gave a small shrug.

"So far, not good. But you know what they say; a single grain of rice can tip the scale." Kai said smiling. Vida pulled a face at her.

"That is not funny Kai!" she yelled. The guards were trying to do two things at once now. They were watching the three women taunt each other and they were trying to get the men to continue with their work at the same time.

Arthur saw this and walked over, sword drawn. The guards tried to stop him but with Kai and Naomi behind them they were soon knocked out. Both women had knocked them on the head.

"What is this?" Arthur asked the men, his knights gathering behind him. At first the three women had mistaken them as just labourers, now it was clear to them that they were priests.

"You cannot go in there. No one goes in there. This place is forbidden." One of the priests told him. The other one was looking Vida up and down, trying to figure something out. Vida caught him staring and tapped Kai on the shoulder. Kai turned round and saw Vida pointing to the man. Kai pulled her lips back into a tight smile.

"You've seen her before, haven't you?" Kai asked the priest. He nodded. "Where?" She asked simply enough. The priest pointed to the door. "Thank you." Kai walked over to the door and kicked the bricks down. She tried the door, but it was locked, and Marius had started to come towards them.

"What are you doing? Stop this!" Marius shouted. Bors moved his horse and blocked Marius' way. Lancelot looked towards Kai and then to Arthur.

"Arthur, we have no time." He said.

"We can make time." Kai replied, trying the door again.

"Do you not hear the drums?" Galahad asked.

"Oh, is that what the noise is?" Naomi asked sarcastically. Kai put a hand on her shoulder and tilted her head a bit. Naomi nodded her head in understanding.

"Listen to me. Our friends are down there and we are getting them back one way or another. Now if you don't want to help, sod off and help the people get moving." Kai told them. Vida was close to tears. They were so close to Val and Larissa but yet no nearer. Suddenly Dagonet was off his horse and pulling one of the guards up onto his feet. They were slowly beginning to come around.

"Key." Arthur said to the man. The guard looked dazed for a few moments more. Kai, Naomi and Vida smiled thanks to the men for helping.

"It is locked." The guard said.

"No shit." Kai said trying the door again.

"From the inside." The guard replied, smirking slightly. Dagonet dropped the guard and moved towards the door. Vida put a hand on his arm stopping him, she smiled up at him.

"Thank you." She whispered, and he put his arm around her. She was shivering from the cold, and he hugged her tighter.

Larissa's head jerked up at the same time as Val's. Guinevere watched her cellmate quietly. A smile passed over the woman's lips, making her look a little demented.

"Did you hear that?" Lar whispered into the darkness. Guinevere shook her head, and a small chuckle came from the cell beside them.

"They're here." She whispered back. Larissa and Val then began to laugh like lunatics, earning them stern looks from the priest that had remained within the darkness with them. He soon returned to his prayers and tried his best to ignore the women.

Kai kicked the door in with one kick. Arthur and Naomi each grabbed a torch and began to move through the door. Kai looked at Vida.

"I think it might be better for you to stay here." She told her, kindly. Vida nodded her head.

"But if anyone needs medical attention bring them out here immediately." She commanded. Kai nodded this time and disappeared into the dark. After Kai had went started to go down, Gawain pushed the two priests forward.

"You, you. Go. Move!" He commanded, and as the priests whimpered they did as they were told.

"Gawain." Lancelot said to get the man's attention, and handed him a torch. The prayers of the priest could be heard from below. The laughing had ceased and all was quiet. Tristan and Bors waited with Vida in the cold air, as everyone else went down.

"Exaudi orationem meam. Exaudi orationem meam. In nomne Dei Patris omnipotentis et in virtute Spiritus Sancti." He stopped mid-prayer. Noticing the light on the walls from the stairs. He moved towards them like a moth drawn to the flame. "Who are these defilers of the Lord's temple?" He called out.

"Out of the way." Lancelot said, pushing the priest out of his way. He and Arthur began to look in some of the cells that were close by, but found nothing but bodies. Kai and Naomi were standing at the bottom of the stairs. Arthur looked at the women, pity filled his eyes, and Lancelot just shook his head.

"The work of your God. Is this how he answers your prayers?" Lancelot yelled at Arthur.

"See if there's any still alive." Arthur told the other knights that had come down. Dagonet walked over to the other side of the room and Lancelot shook his head before cutting at chains. One of the priests from outside began to talk.

"How dare you set foot in this Holy place?" He grabbed at Lancelot's armour, trying to get hold of him. Lancelot ran his sword through the man.

"There was a man of God!" The priest that had been inside told Lancelot.

"Not my God." He replied, removing his sword from the priests' guts and letting his limp body fall to the floor.

Kai strode into the room and pushed the priest up against the wall. Her dagger aimed at his nether regions.

"Now, me and my friend, we're looking for two women. Not from these parts. Where are they?" She asked. The remaining priest started to scratch at Kai's arm.

"Please! Please don't tell him. They are other here. In these two." He said and moved over to the two cells. Naomi took Kai's position, as Kai walked over to where the priest was. She looked inside. The unmistakeable red hair of Larissa stuck out as did Val's sleek black hair. Kai smiled.

"I don't know." She said into the cells. "Sleeping through your own rescue." The two women looked up at the words and saw Kai's smiling face looking back at them. Kai stood up and broke one set of chains with her sword, then the other. Gawain and Galahad stepped forward. Galahad picked Val up and Gawain picked Larissa up, and carried them out.

Dagonet, who had been searching the other side of the room, shouted over for Arthur. He pulled a small boy out and sat him down. "You must not fear me!" He told the boy sternly. The boy gave a small nod and Dagonet carried him out.

Kai nodded towards Naomi to let the priest go and began to follow everyone outside when a hand grasped her boot. She jumped, being completely taken by surprise and looked down. A woman, about the same age as them, with dark blonde hair looked out at her. Kai looked over to Arthur.

"There's someone else in here." She said, and Arthur came over, picked the woman up and carried her off. Kai followed.

"Water! Give me some water!" Arthur cried out as he carried the woman out and placed her on the grass beside the others. Kai was escorting the two remaining priests out when she saw Vida looking over both Val and Larissa. She had to smile at the sight. Horton had obeyed Arthur's command and had brought water over. Arthur took the top off the skin and poured some slowly down the woman's throat. Marius's wife surprised them all by coming over and offering her help, whilst Dagonet was busy trying to give the boy some water.

"His arm is broken. And his family?" Horton asked, concern filling his voice. Naomi looked at Kai and mouthed the words "Bloody hell!" at her. Kai chuckled slightly to herself. Dagonet shook his head in reply to Horton's question.

"She's a Woad." Tristan exclaimed to the others.

"Thank you Mr. Obvious." Naomi replied, grinning over her shoulder at the man. "Anything else you'd like to point out?" Tristan ignored her. Arthur was trying to calm the woman down.

"I'm a Roman Officer. You're safe now. You're safe." He repeated as the woman began to trust him ever so slightly. Marius started to take charge of the situation, much to everyone's annoyance.

"Stop what you are doing!" He yelled to the knights and the three women. Kai glared at him and Vida ignored him, sitting by the boys' side trying to work out where his arm had broken.

"What is this madness?" Arthur yelled back.

"They are all Pagans here!" Vida stopped in her work and glared up Marius. He took an involuntary step back. Naomi moved over to Kai.

"Have you been giving her lessons?" She asked casually.

"What do you mean?" Kai asked. Naomi shook her head and moved over to Larissa's side where Gawain was trying to make her head comfortable. Vida stood up and moved to face Marius.

"Did you even ask them?" She yelled, pointing to where her twin and Larissa lay. Marius blinked at her question. "You see, my sister and Larissa are both Christians. So how can you possibly say that they were Pagans!" She yelled at him. The knights were smiling and chuckling to each other as Vida stood seething and glaring, waiting for Marius to reply.

"They refuse to do the task God has set for them! They must die as an example." Marius replied feebly. Vida continued to glare at him. Marius was beginning to feel uncomfortable in his skin at the look the woman was giving him. However, no matter where he looked, he saw one of the five glaring at him.

"You mean they refused to be your serfs!" Arthur interrupted earning a scathing glare off Vida before she turned and went back to her work. Arthur sighed inwardly that Vida, small as she was, had left the matter. However, he was not so fortunate for Kai to leave the matter in his more than capable hands. Kai strode forward.

"What gives you the right to decide what God's work is?" Kai asked him. "Nobody can decide but Him." She told Marius pointing towards the sky. "And I'm sorry, but unless you and Him have daily conversations, which is less than likely, you cannot possibly know what God intends for anyone." Kai glared at him as he tried to form words but failed. "That's what I thought." With that, she stormed off to see how her friends were doing.

Vida and Naomi watched in silent admiration. Though Kai was not a Christian and did not believe in any faith but her own skills and fortune, they had amazed her in her defending their faith. Marius however, soon composed himself and set himself to Arthur.

"You are a Roman. You understand. And you are a Christian." He pleaded to Arthur. Arthur turned away from him and Marius set upon his wife, who was sitting by Larissa, trying to get the woman to drink something. "You! You kept them alive!" Before Marius could strike his wife Kai had grabbed hold of his arm, turned him to face her, and kicked him so hard in his gut he went flying backwards, arms flailing, as he tried to stop himself from hitting the ground. Kai stood over him, her sword pointed at his throat.

"Go for her again, or anyone for that matter, and I'll gut you quicker than you can take a gasp of air." Marius shrank back from the woman in fear. Marius turned to Arthur.

"Are these women under your command?" He asked. Arthur nodded. "Then when we get to the wall, you will be punished for their acts of heresy."

"Perhaps I should let her kill you now and seal my fate." Arthur replied, looking between Kai, who had a slightly demented grin on her face as her sword hovered precariously over Marius's throat, and Marius, who seemed to petrified of the woman standing above him to move. One of the priests came forward.

"I was willing to die with them. Yes, to lead them to their rightful place. It is God's wish that these sinners be sacrificed. Only then can their souls be saved." The priest that had been inside with them told Arthur. Arthur nodded his head in agreement and put a hand on the priests shoulder.

"Then I shall grant his wish. Wall them back up." He told his men as the priests looked stricken at the words that had been spoken. None of the knights looked impressed with Arthur's command.

"Arthur." Tristan spoke, trying to make him see sense.

"I said wall them up!" Kai left Marius and moved over to the priests.

"Gentlemen, if you will follow me please. Your accommodation has been arranged for you. Dark, dank, and thoroughly depressing." She told them cheerfully as she pushed them down the stairs, closed the door, and began walling it up. Naomi came and helped her and within a matter of minutes the door was sealed up. After they were finished she turned to the knights. "Thanks for the help guys." She told them sarcastically as she moved over to Vida. Vida was busy bandaging the boys arm up.

"How are they?" Naomi asked. Vida looked up.

"They'll be fine. I have to wash their backs soon before they become infested, and they need to be bandaged up. I'll say in a couple of days, once they've had something to eat, they'll be right as rain again." Vida seemed too cheerful, that Kai and Naomi knew something was bothering her.

"What's wrong?" Kai asked, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Vida's eyes filled up with tears.

"They've been tortured. All four of them. They were whipped raw and fingers dislocated, amongst other things. I don't know how they managed to survive." Vida said collapsing into Kai's shoulder and crying. Kai put her arm round Vida's shoulder and hugged her.

"We always knew something like this might happen one day to one of us, if not all of us. It was always just a matter of time. And you said yourself. In a couple of days they'll be back to their usual commanding, dominating, annoying selves." Kai said, as she felt someone hit her back. She looked behind and saw Larissa lying there.

"Bitch," was all she said before falling back to sleep. Vida finished bandaging the boy's arm up and walked over to Arthur.

"I need a wagon to put them in. Somewhere where they'll be able to sleep undisturbed." Arthur looked down at her and smiled.

"I think we might be able to manage something. Gawain, see if you can find an empty wagon." Gawain nodded and walked off.

"Thank you." Vida turned and went back to check on the injured. Alecto watched them all quietly from a distance. The women's actions and words intrigued him and the knights made little sense to him at all.


End file.
